The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant Continues
by ShadowedNara
Summary: In a moment of adrenaline-fuelled panic, Fukasaku makes a split second decision that wrests our favourite toad sage from the cold grasp of death!
1. A Splendid Shinobi

_In a moment of adrenaline-fuelled panic, Fukasaku makes a split second decision that wrests our favourite toad sage from the cold grasp of death!_

 **Disclaimer:** **All characters of Naruto and things Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

 **The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant Continues** by ShadowedNara

XxX

 ** _Prologue_**

A Splendid Shinobi

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'It's no good,' Jiraiya thought in a slight panic, his body wracking with an immense amount of pain. 'My throat was crushed in that last attack.'

His body shook softly from the mind numbing hurt that was overriding rational thought. Any attempt to budge his body even a little was met with a surge of irreparable pain. The cold steel of those rods that were skewering him through various places on his abdomen were doing more than just damage to his organs. They were disrupting his chakra flow as well, invading his diminishing life force and hastening his descent into endless unconsciousness.

He felt as his body slowly began shutting down, and his eye lids were becoming heavier and heavier, his vision hazing and blurring out of view. His limbs felt like lead, though he attributed that to the rods that were holding him down. He could still twitch his right arm which was something, though that felt as if it was being weighed down by no less than a mountain.

A wheezing cough escaped his throat as he once more tried to create words, but to no avail. 'I must... I have to let Boss know of Pain's identity...'

His vision began blurring further, and Jiraiya could feel as it became ever more difficult to continue drawing breath. In what he felt was to be his last waking moments, Jiraiya turned his thoughts to that of his student. To that of his godson. These last few years travelling with Naruto had been some of the best years of his life. He cherished every moment he'd been granted with his godson.

He'd felt in all honesty that he didn't even deserve as much, having not even been in the kid's life until three years ago. He was a failure of a godfather. Thinking back some more, Jiraiya came to the begrudging realisation that his whole life had just been filled with failure after failure. He'd have hoped to be able to defeat the Akatsuki here and today, to be able to defeat Pain and rid the world of the evil that was sure to befall it in the future.

Shinobi were measured not by how they lived, but by what they managed to accomplish before they died. He had hoped to die like one of the Hokage who had come before, ending his life and dying as nothing less than a splendid shinobi. He was supposed to guide the child of prophecy, guide them in their quest to save the world from its destruction.

The child of prophecy. Thinking back now, it had never been Minato. It had never been Nagato either, no matter how much those eyes of his had convinced him of the contrary. But rather Naruto. His most recent student, his godson. Jiraiya had no doubt in his mind now that Naruto was that child of prophecy. Naruto who had the guts to never give up, the will to never go back on his word. Shinobi were those that endured, never giving up no matter the odds. He was supposed to be the one to guide _Naruto_ in his quest to bring about a great change as the child of prophecy.

'No...' Drawing in a breath, Jiraiya slowly began pushing himself back onto his single remaining arm, his body trembling from the exertion. By all accounts, he should have long since been dead, but there was no way he was gonna let himself get snuffed before at least relaying the secret of Pain's jutsu. He had to give his death some meaning. For Naruto. 'A student inherits his ninja way from his master, so I have no business making a fuss... isn't that so Naruto?'

Fukasaku stared down at Jiraiya with wide eyes, his expression awestruck and bewildered. 'His heart had stopped, but he managed to claw his way back through sheer will power alone!' It was absolutely absurd, yet here he was witnessing it with his own eyes. 'Oh Jiraiya-boy...'

Looking down into the dying yet very-much-alive eyes of Jiraiya, he could see that he needed to relay something. The toad elder though quickly realised that Jiraiya had no means to communicate with his damaged wind pipe. He had an inclination in to what Jiraiya was planning however, and was preparing to remove his small cape when his eyes spotted the six Pain's advancing once more on their position. Fukasaku's eyes widened in panic, and adrenaline began coursing through his veins once more. "Oh no, Jiraiya-boy!"

His panic-filled mind had him running through hand seals with a speed fuelled by his adrenaline, and in a puff of smoke, they were gone.

Jiraiya's mind spun uncontrollably as a nauseating wave of dizziness overcame him, his vision once again faded into black. 'Damn it... I guess I can chalk this up to just one more failure... I'm sorry Naruto... but your worthless godfather has failed you yet again... I hope you can find it in yourself to one day forgive me...'

And then, he knew nothing...

* * *

 ** _So yeah, found myself watching a Jiraiya tribute video the other day and my heart went out to one of the greatest characters in the series, seriously. Jiraiya was a true shinobi in every sense of the word, and he endured no matter what was thrown at him. I wrote this up initially just because I felt like doing something that involved Jiraiya, and I just decided to post it any way._**

 ** _I feel like I might turn this into a story, but I've got finals coming up which means I won't be touching a computer until the end of November. That being said, let me know what you think, as well as anything you wanna say about Jiraiya if you're as much a fan of him as I am. So yeah, peace out guys._**

 ** _ShadowedNara_**


	2. Back from the Brink

_In a moment of adrenaline-fuelled panic, Fukasaku makes a split second decision that wrests our favourite toad sage from the cold grasp of death!_

 _ **AN: This one's a little angsty, but it should be the last one like that. Enjoy!**_

 **Disclaimer:** **All characters of Naruto and things Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

 **The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant Continues** by ShadowedNara

XxX

 ** _Chapter 0.5_**

Back from the Brink

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 _"What appears to be the end, may really be a new beginning."_

—Anonymous

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The torrential downpour of rain cascaded relentlessly down along the glass of the hospital windows, the dim light from outside softly filtering into the room. The sky was littered with dark grey storm clouds, storm clouds that hadn't ceased in the past few days. And although the tapping of rain drops thudded dully off the window, the only sound currently filling the room was that of a painfully slow heart-rate monitor.

Tsunade felt the state of the weather mildly appropriate, considering the state of her white-haired teammate who was laid up in the hospital bed beside her. He was covered in bandages from head to toe, and he had a thick cast wrapped around his neck. There was also the noticeable absence of his left arm, though under the blankets it was impossible to pick up on.

The blonde haired woman adjusted her position in the chair she was sitting in, though she didn't let go of Jiraiya's right hand that was still gently grasped within her own. She hadn't moved from his bedside since he'd been brought back to Konoha on the brink of death, her medical skills being pushed to the absolute limit as the life of Jiraiya rested on her shoulders. "You stupid idiot..."

It had been touch and go. He had already lost so much blood upon his arrival, and things were looking worse than dire during the operation. There had been a moment where she'd honestly thought they might lose him. Such a thing would have devastated her, even more so due to the fact that it was by her hand that he wouldn't have made it.

But she refused to lose one of the last remaining precious people she still had in this life, one of the last remaining people she still cared so deeply for. "Or maybe I'm the stupid idiot."

A part of her was slightly angry with herself. Angry that it had taken the near loss of Jiraiya for her to finally come to terms with how she truly felt about her white-haired teammate. She'd loved him for far longer than she knew, far longer than she was willing to admit. After all her hardships, all the death she'd had to experience, keeping people at arm's length was something she'd done to protect herself from further possible heart ache.

Though now she knew that life was too short and fleeting to think like that. She wasn't going to push people away anymore. She'd make sure to hold onto them and never let them go for as long as she was still able to draw breath.

 _Tsunade stood staring out at the storm that was raging outside the village, her arms folded guardedly across her chest. She had a sombre expression on her face, and her loyal and faithful student Shizune seemed to sense her master's weariness. "Don't worry Lady Tsunade, I'm sure he'll be back in no time."_

 _Tsunade didn't say anything for a moment as they stood in silence, only the pitter-patter of the rain filling the quiet atmosphere. "That idiot isn't coming back. And if he is... well, it'll be in a body bag."_

 _Shizune's eyes widened at her master's words, Tsunade glancing back at the raven-haired girl with a watery smile. "At least, that's what he made me bet him before he left. Cause you know, I always lose my bets."_

Tsunade sighed wistfully at the memory. She'd almost lost something a lot more important to her than a silly bet, and she'd never take it for granted again, repeating the words in her mind that she'd uttered to herself after Jiraiya had left. 'If you make it back here, you won't have to put up a tough front for my rejection any more you damned pervert.'

XxX

The dull sound of a steady beeping noise gently filled Jiraiya's ears as he slowly found himself waking up, his senses rebooting painfully slow one after the other. His eyes were next, and he gingerly peeled open his sleep-covered eyelids, the dim light of the room going easy on his still-adjusting vision.

He found himself staring through a blurry haze at a white ceiling. If the earlier beeping hadn't given it away yet, he had no doubts now that he was lying in a hospital bed. He would have sighed, had tried to actually, but that's when he became acutely aware of the pipe that was fastened to his mouth and likely being fed down his throat. 'Oh right... crushed throat. No way I'll ever forget that.'

The white-haired Sannin blinked a few more times, his blurry gaze gradually clearing up. Once it did though, he realised he couldn't move much at all aside from a slight tilt of his head. His entire body from his neck down was deathly numb, and he wondered briefly if he was just a head. The thought simultaneously terrified and amused him, but he quickly cut that line of thinking when he felt something warm.

Jiraiya closed his eyes and tried to focus as closely as he could on that feeling, and that's when he felt it again, the sensation barely registering through the numbness of his body. A firm yet gentle squeezing of his right hand drew his attention, and he gingerly tilted his head as much as he could, his eyes sweeping over a head of familiar blonde hair, two pigtails lying splayed over his bed sheets.

The soft sound of her even breaths made him aware of the fact she was sleeping, though that didn't affect her grip one bit. Jiraiya's heart swelled at the sight, though he didn't get much time to contemplate it as a sudden wave of drowsiness overtook him. His eye lids were succumbing to gravity's pull, and his world slowly faded to black once more. 'It's good to see you again... Tsunade...'

XxX

Jiraiya once again found himself waking up to the dull beeping of the machine he seemed to be hooked up to, its steady noises filling the air to the rhythmic beating of his heart. 'Beating of my heart… I guess Boss somehow managed to save me.' He was quickly getting tired of the sound though, but he found that his body was still quite stiff and numb from his grievous injuries and whatever medication he was currently on.

He gently tilted his head up a little and glanced around the room, finding it empty apart from himself. He furrowed his brows curiously as he vaguely recalled a pair of blonde pig tails spread over his blanket, and a vice-like grip on his hand that was surprisingly gentle. He quickly banished those thoughts though as he once again turned to stare up at the ceiling. 'Who am I kidding…? Tsunade has better things to do than worry about an old pervert like me.'

He continued staring up at the white ceiling, lost in his thoughts and trying to recall all that had transpired during his battle with Pain. He wasn't left to dwell long though before the door to his room opened, and the all too familiar form of his blonde haired teammate came into view. She wasn't looking at him as she entered, her gaze focused on opening the door. It gave Jiraiya a good opportunity to eye her from head to toe, and he frowned at what he saw.

She was carrying herself in a lacklustre manner, her posture a little hunched in what he could assume had to be weariness. Her usually confident eyes were glassy, coloured a dishevelling tone of red, a clear sign of crying. There were also noticeable dark bags beneath her eyes, so it seemed that to top it all off, she hadn't been getting any sleep either.

It broke Jiraiya's heart to see her in such a state, a pitiful contrast to the beauty and confidence she usually exuded. Getting caught up in his saddening thoughts, he hastily tried calling out to her, forgetting that his throat was still very much damaged, the lack of tubing running down his throat convincing him of such. Scorching hot pain erupted within his throat, and his eyes began to water as he coughed out in agony.

Tsunade was quick to hear him and whipped around at the sound, shutting the door and desperately rushing over to the right side of the bed where she'd been spending her nights over the past week. "Jiraiya!"

Her wide eyes immediately scanned his body, and upon noticing his right hand attempting to reach for his throbbing throat, quickly deduced the cause of his pain. Her hands were instantly bathed in a glowing green aura of healing chakra, and she diligently went about tending to his obvious pain, letting out a relieved sigh when he yielded in his soft wheezes.

Her eyes were wide once again after the initial shock of him being in pain wore off, and she reached a shaky hand down towards his sole remaining one. Slowly and gingerly she turned it palm up, tracing the aging lines of his hands with a gentleness Jiraiya had never experienced from her before. His own eyes were fixed upon her soft ministrations, and a blissful feeling of warmth spread throughout his body as she tenderly grabbed his hand with her own.

He tore his eyes away from their hands and drew them towards her face, and his breath hitched in his throat as he eyed the tears freely flowing from her beautiful amber eyes. 'Why… could she possibly be crying for me?' The thought simultaneously filled him with joy and wretched at his heart. He wanted to be the last reason to make her cry. 'Please Tsunade, don't waste your tears on someone like me…'

With a gentle squeeze of his hand, he slowly removed it from beneath hers and shakily brought it up to her face, running the pad of his thumb across her cheek to rid her tears. Tsunade closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, bringing her other hand up to her face and enclosing it around his. Jiraiya wished more than anything that he could just speak to her, to ease her of her worries and reassure her that everything was going to be all right. Not for the first time he cursed his failure to defeat Pain, leading him to this point in time.

They stayed like that for a little while longer before she brushed her lips on the back of his hand, looking into his soft eyes with relief. "I-I'm sorry Jiraiya. I'm so sorry."

Jiraiya's eyes widened at her words, and a sorrowful frown creased his face. He couldn't even begin to comprehend what she was apologising to _him_ for. He was the one that had caused her all this pain, all this agony. If anything, he should be the one apologising to her. 'You have nothing to be sorry for,' he thought while shaking his head at her. He hoped that she could get the gist of what he was trying to convey.

Tsunade continued brushing the back of his hand with her thumb, shaking her head before flashing a watery smile at him, her eyes shining with happiness. "Oh don't give me that look you old pervert. You don't need to be gallant for me." She pushed her lips to the back of his hand once more before staring at him with a guilt-stricken gaze. "The way I treated you all these years… I was so sound in the knowledge that you'd never leave me, that I took you for granted. You were always so brave and so fearless, and I deluded myself into thinking that you'd live forever."

A small sob escaped her throat, and before Jiraiya could move to comfort her, she flashed him a relieved smile. "But I'm not making that mistake twice. I'm not letting you leave me again. Not if I have anything to say about it."

Jiraiya looked up at her with a spark of happiness in his eyes that Tsunade had never seen before. He honestly couldn't really believe everything that he'd just heard, and he was wondering to himself if this just wasn't some kind of extremely lucid dream. He sincerely hoped not. Tsunade – his first and last love Tsunade, finally seemed to be coming around after all these years, and Jiraiya honestly felt like he could take on the world.

Tsunade took in his joyed expression and slowly bent down over him, stopping just before his face, his warm breath tickling her nose. She revelled in the way her heart rate seemed to sky rocket from their proximity, and although she'd been this close to him before, closer in certain instances, it had never been under circumstances such as these. Cursing her sudden lack of iron-clad nerves, she placed a small chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth before pulling back up a little.

She took in the widening of his eyes, that same spark she'd never had the pleasure of seeing too often back in full force, and her heart swelled with happiness, glad that she could finally give him the adoration that he deserved. She placed a hand over his forehead, leaning into his hand as he once again brought it up to her face and cupped it gently. "Don't worry Jiraiya, I'm not going anywhere. So rest for now…"

Her hand on his forehead quickly glowed a soft green as healing chakra once again enveloped it, before his hand slowly fell back down to the bed. She watched him as his chest rose and fell in a gentle rhythm, and once again rejoiced in the fact that he wasn't going anywhere. "And neither am I."

* * *

 _ **AN: So yeah, that's chapter 2. My exams were pushed back a week so I had a little spare time, but that means that I won't be back behind my pc until early December instead, so it has its share of pros and cons. Any ways, like I said, this chapter was a little angsty, but I didn't see any other way of writing this chapter without making it as such, and I really wanted to have this in here.**_

 _ **I've decided that I will try my best to turn this into a story, and I'm starting to plan what will be happening, but that's slow going while I have to study for exams, so please be patient with me. Let me know what you think! Cheers for now.**_

 _ **ShadowedNara**_


	3. On Your Feet

_In a moment of adrenaline-fuelled panic, Fukasaku makes a split second decision that wrests our favourite toad sage from the cold grasp of death!_

 ** _AN: Little bit of fluff in here, which I'm not used to writing, but hey, first time for everything. Enjoy!_**

 **Disclaimer:** **All characters of Naruto and things Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

 **The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant Continues** by ShadowedNara

XxX

 ** _Chapter 1_**

On Your Feet

* * *

 _"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."_

—Seneca

* * *

The faintest of breezes combed through Jiraiya's hair as he slowly came to, his eyes adjusting to the brightness of the room. The blinds in the room were fully drawn back to allow the sunlight entrance, and the window was open just more than a touch, the fresh morning air bringing with it a crisp smell of nature.

He took a deep breath and let out a comforting sigh. He felt great. Better than great in fact. His body was nowhere near as stiff as it was the last time he remembered being awake, and there was no lingering pain, no lingering numbness anywhere on his body. He was also grateful for the fact that he no longer had a pipe shoved down his throat. In all honesty it hadn't been his first time, but he was hoping it would be his last though. Despite the slight tickle at the back of his throat, which was bordering on annoying itch, he felt ready to use his voice again as if he'd never been injured in the first place.

He slowly raised himself into a seated position and gave his joints a good stretch, once again coming to the realisation that he was missing an arm. 'That's definitely going to be an adjustment…' It was a strange feeling to say the least, but his mind was drawn from that train of thought by a small notepad on his bedside table, a black pen lying atop the pad, with a hastily scrawled note on the first page that caught his attention.

 _I recommend taking it easy on that voice of yours if you want to start speaking again any time soon._

 _P.S. If you run your body even half as much as you do your mouth, you'll be back in fighting shape in no time._

— _Tsunade_

Jiraiya cracked a broad grin as his eyes traced over the message a second time, shaking his head in amusement. 'I do like to run my mouth don't I?' His mind ran rampant a second later, a goofy grin lighting up his face as his eyes glazed over in perverse bliss. 'In fact, I know just what I'd like to run my mouth over. Tsunade would love it!'

He rid himself of those lecherous thoughts and tore off the first page, folding it and getting ready to place it in the pocket of his haori before remembering that he was still in his hospital gown. He swivelled his head from left to right before his eyes landed on a small pile of clothes folded neatly on the other bedside table, hobbling over with a little lingering stiffness.

It was only once he was standing in front of his clean clothes did he realise that he may have some trouble with a few items, but ultimately shook his head at the thought. 'Ha! As if a few measely pieces of clothing could outsmart the great and humble Jiraiya!'

He started off with no trouble whatsoever, ripping the hospital gown off with a not-so-gentle tug. Underwear and his mesh under garments came next, followed by his short kimono shirt and matching pants. The problem came however when he realised he had no way of tying his belt, and his struggle began as he attempted to swing the material around his body, trying in vein to catch it with his single remaining arm as it came around the other side.

He didn't know how long he'd been at it, but so engrossed was he by the task of trying to tie his belt, that he didn't even notice as someone came strolling into his room. There was silence for few more moments as Jiraiya continued to struggle before a soft giggle ripped him from his efforts, finally garnering his attention. "Here, let me help with that Master Jiraiya."

The fair-skinned assistant of Tsunade quickly strolled into the room, Shizune placing her small clipboard on the hospital bed before taking the belt from a reluctant Jiraiya. She could almost feel the pout that was playing on the man's face, and she did her best not to let her amusement show. "It's all right to ask for help if you need it you know, even if you are one of the Sannin."

Jiraiya just took a step back from the girl and rolled his eyes, picking up his headband and grudgingly handing it over to his teammate's assistant. If anything Shizune's smile widened, and she dutifully went about fastening Jiraiya's headband to his head.

She stepped back when she was done and picked up her clipboard again, marking something off with her pen before glancing back up at the man who was now obsessively fiddling with his headband, a small frown on his face. She rolled her eyes. _Of course_ she hadn't put it on right. 'Figures,' she thought sarcastically. 'He's just as stubborn as Lady Tsunade.'

She snapped her fingers to get his attention as she made her way towards the door, glancing over her shoulder as she spoke. "It's good to see you're up Master Jiraiya. As soon as you finish up here, you should head over to the Hokage Tower. Lady Tsunade wants to speak with you."

Jiraiya just nodded his head before going back to adjusting his headband, getting another roll of the eyes from Shizune as she left him to his own devices. 'If she was going to do such a shoddy job of it I could've just done it myself,' he thought in annoyance. He could just _feel_ that it wasn't right. A niggling thought in the back of his mind told him he was being a little dramatic, but that was quickly squashed.

When he was finally satisfied with the positioning of his headband, he grabbed the pen and notepad, safely pocketing them inside his haori along with the previous note from Tsunade before stepping up to the window and dipping his head out, relishing in the breeze that ran across his face. 'Ah, it's good to be back on my feet.'

He took a deep breath of the fresh morning air before launching himself out the window... and narrowly avoiding face-planting into the roof of a nearby building, rolling into a lopsided crouch as he fell forward onto his armless side. He let out a grunt of exertion as he pushed himself back onto his knees and then onto his feet, looking down at the lack of limb and clicking his tongue in disgruntled annoyance. 'Well this is just great. I guess not having my right arm _would_ throw off my balance.'

He took a few tentative steps forward again, working into a slight jog and trying to determine how fast he could go at the moment without kissing the dirt thanks to his dismal lack of balance at the moment. He found himself unconsciously veering ever so slightly to his right, and whenever he jumped he was overcompensating on his one side because of his missing arm.

If he really concentrated he could manage smaller jumps and run at a decent enough pace, but he was going to need to start doing some physical training if he wanted to be able to run and jump as if he'd never lost the limb in the first place. It was going to be a process, but he understood that something like this would take a little bit of time to overcome, so he was willing to cope with it for now.

Taking slightly longer than planned, he eventually reached the Hokage Tower and opted instead to make use of the front entrance. The ledge by Tsunade's window would be too much of a mission to try and land on properly with his current level of mobility, so he decided to save himself any embarrassment and use the door for a change. Once he was back in shape and used to the lack of his left arm, he could resume using his special entrance.

The walk through the inner halls of the Hokage Tower was nostalgic to say the least. He couldn't remember the last time he'd ever come in through the front door like most shinobi were expected to, and he found that he didn't recognise much of the place anymore. His last venture through the doors like that had to have been decades ago when he was still a freshly minted jōnin, back when Sarutobi-sensei was still Hokage.

He spared his late sensei a brief moment of thought before finding himself standing outside the door to Tsunade's office, not even bothering to knock as he strode in and closed the door behind him. He found his buxom blonde haired teammate hard at work, a serene smile on her face. He was surprised at how at ease she seemed, not kicking up any kind of fuss over working whatsoever. He was especially surprised at the lack of sake that was usually ever-present on her desk, a working aid she more often than not couldn't do without. He grinned at her curiously before retrieving his notepad and pen, writing said thoughts on the top page before crumpling it into a supremely aerodynamic ball and throwing it at her, the soft paper sphere bouncing softly off her head.

She looked up at him with a glare as the beginnings of a tick mark began to form before her eyes softened considerably and she began uncrumpling the paper. "I'm glad to see you're up and about Jiraiya," she said softly, still unfurling his message. "Being in a hospital bed doesn't suit you," she muttered with a smirk in his direction.

He replied to her smirk with a grin in kind. He faltered slightly though at seeing her face drop upon reading his message, and she looked up at him with an unreadable expression before sighing softly. "It's because you're alive you damned pervert. I always tried to push you away, always trying to hurt you and neglect you. I used to wonder why you stayed by my side all these years..."

Jiraiya moved around her desk and swivelled her chair a little, facing her with serious yet soft expression. "You said used to. Do you finally get it Tsunade?" he asked hoarsely in a soft croak, surprising her as he spoke out. She looked like she wanted to protest him using his voice, but he shook his head and gently grabbed her raised hand, holding it in his and flashing her a genuine smile. "It's because I love you."

Her eyes widened at the revelation, and deep down he was a little confused by her surprise. He'd have thought it was quite obvious of his feelings for her, but he couldn't help the large measure of emotion he felt himself. As much as he himself knew of his feelings, saying them out loud like this, directly to Tsunade herself. It changed everything, and he suddenly wasn't so surprised by her shock at his confession.

Her widened eyes began to shine with moisture as she smiled happily at him, letting out a few watery chuckles. "Look at you, being all lovey-dovey. As perverted as you are, I didn't think you had a romantic bone in your body."

He looked ready to protest her remark as he pouted childishly, but she quickly grabbed his face with both her hands and pressed her lips against his in a desperate kiss, resting her forehead against the cold steel of his headband as she panted for air. She pulled away slightly and found his eyes similarly wide in shock, just as hers had been earlier. "Do _you_ finally get it Jiraiya?" she asked him softly, repeating the words he'd just uttered to her a few moments prior. "It's because... I love you too."

She'd come to terms with her feelings for him, but just as with his confession, vocalising those feelings had a certain air of finality to it, and it made her feelings seem all the more real.

Jiraiya quickly overcame his shock at her confession and grabbed her face with his one hand, pulling her back in for a passionate kiss. After how long he didn't know, but when he pulled away, he smiled down at her with a goofy grin that spoke volumes of the emotions swirling within him, and his eyes seemed a little glassier than usual as well. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

She smiled up at him with a genuine smile of her own, wiping a forming tear from her eyes before adopting a stern expression. Though there was an undercurrent of softness that almost completely overshadowed her desire to act seriously. "That's great, but stop using your voice! It's never going to get better if you do. Doctor's orders," she finished with an air of finality, crossing her arms over her chest as she smirked up at him.

He grinned a little too eagerly at her words, as well as her actions—her folded arms did wonders to her breasts—and the next thing she knew, he was scribbling furiously into the notepad she'd left for him earlier that morning. After a while it was clear he wasn't writing a message for her though, and she could expect to see some sort of scene with a doctor in his next porn book, of that she was almost positive. She shook her head in amusement. 'Some things never change. Though he wouldn't be Jiraiya if they did.'

A quick almost impatient knock sounded off her door, and before she even had time to utter so much as an 'Enter', the door was flying open, the wooden frame banging off the wall as it swung full tilt. "Granny Tsunade I'm back!"

Naruto's loud voice echoed off the walls of the relatively quiet office, and Tsunade had to wince at the sheer pitch to it. "Damn it brat, not so loud!" she shouted back, an annoyed frown on her face.

Naruto just grinned before spying Jiraiya to her right, his grin becoming wider. "Hey, Pervy Sage, what are you—"

Naruto's sentence abruptly cut off half way as Jiraiya turned his body to glance at the blonde, and Naruto's eyes were immediately drawn to his white-haired sensei's left arm. Or rather, lack thereof. His eyes widened in shock as he pointed at his master. "Pervy Sage what—what happened to your arm?!"

Tsunade sighed before gesturing for Naruto to come closer, already having prepared for this eventuality. She didn't need Naruto to start worrying and becoming even more of a pain than usual. "Jiraiya lost his arm on his last mission, and his throat was damaged as well. He won't be able to speak for a while because of it, but besides that, he's perfectly fine."

"Wha—what do you mean he's perfectly fine?! He's missing an _arm_!" Naruto looked like he couldn't understand why they weren't comprehending the gravity of the situation. I mean, Jiraiya was missing an arm, and they were acting like it was something as casual as breaking a bone. It was ludicrous. "How can you be so calm over that?"

Tsunade just pinched the bridge of her nose before staring Naruto down seriously. "Listen Naruto, Jiraiya was lucky to get out of there with his life, so losing an arm is pretty trivial in the face of that." She sighed at the widening of his eyes. 'You didn't see what he looked like when Lord Fukasaku brought him back, but… losing an arm… it's a small price to pay compared to what could've been.'

She just hoped she'd got it through that thick skull of his that in spite of everything Jiraiya was still alive, so the loss of his arm wasn't as big of a deal as he was making it. It was a twisted way of thinking about it, but they were shinobi, death was part and parcel of the life they lived, so only losing an arm… Jiraiya could count himself lucky.

Tsunade had hoped to downplay his injuries, though with Naruto it could never have been that simple. She didn't need Naruto to start panicking. A frantic Naruto was infinitely more annoying than regular Naruto, and despite both being incredibly exasperating, she would gladly take the latter over the former.

Naruto looked between her and Jiraiya sceptically, and he definitely wasn't finished with this conversation, but at his master's reassuring nod of the head, he reluctantly accepted her explanation for now and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Talk about blowing the wind out of your sails. "So uh, what's up? Kakashi-sensei said you were looking for me?"

Tsunade suddenly became very serious as she stared at Naruto, linking her hands together on her desk. "Yes, we have received new intel on Akatsuki, specifically the identity of their leader."

Naruto eyes widened at that information, and Jiraiya assumed that Lord Fukasaku must have briefed Tsunade on what went down with Pain when he was brought back to the village. That reminded Jiraiya of something he'd thought about on his way here, and he began writing frantically into his notepad.

Naruto glanced between Tsunade and a frantically scribbling Jiraiya before looking back at the former. "So who is he? And what are we gonna do about it? You've gotta have some kind of plan right?"

Tsunade was ready to respond, but a piece of paper was quickly thrust in front of her face by Jiraiya, and her eyes quickly scanned the page before widening considerably. "What?! You're planning to leave already?! You've only just recovered, and partially at that!"

Jiraiya had never stopped scribbling though, and upon completion of her outburst, he thrust another page at her. Her eyes scanned the second page with a franticness she hadn't had before, and she glanced towards Naruto this time before back to her white haired teammate. "Are you sure they'll come for him? They haven't captured the Eight Tails yet, so surely you don't need to—"

Another page was passed to her, and Naruto was slowly getting more than a little frustrated by the whole thing. He hated being kept out of the loop like this. "What are you talking about?!"

Tsunade read the last page before releasing a heavy sigh, glancing at Jiraiya out the corner of her eye. "I don't like it, but I can see it's necessary." She let out another sigh and glanced back at Naruto this time, Jiraiya looking at him as well and giving him a thumbs up. "You and Jiraiya are going to go to Mount Myōboku and undergo extensive training for the inevitable arrival of Pain."

* * *

 _ **AN: Hey guys, that's the third chapter! I know I said I wasn't going to be back until the beginning of December, but my last exam went so well, I had quite a lot of free time on my hand that I decided to write up another chapter. After this though seriously, I'll be away till early December!**_

 _ **The chapters themselves aren't that long, which I'm not gonna lie, is quite easy for me to write, but I'm planning on extending them to about 3.5k-4k words a chapter eventually, but that'll have to wait till later.**_

 _ **Any ways, let me know what you think, like I said, first time writing any sort of fluff, so I'm quite inexperienced.**_

 _ **ShadowedNara**_


	4. To the Land of Toads

_In a moment of adrenaline-fuelled panic, Fukasaku makes a split second decision that wrests our favourite toad sage from the cold grasp of death!_

 ** _AN: Managed another quick yet small update, was a little bored between studies, so I hope you enjoy._**

 **Disclaimer:** **All characters of Naruto and things Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

 **The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant Continues** by ShadowedNara

XxX

 ** _Chapter 1.5_**

To the Land of Toads

* * *

 _"What the catterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly."_

—Lao Tzu

* * *

Naruto scrunched his nose up in thought as he glanced between the two Sannin, scratching his head in uncertainty. "I dunno. Is that really necessary? I mean what if this Pain guy shows up while we're out training?! Shouldn't we just train here in case something happens?"

Tsunade kept her facial expression even as the blonde haired youth spoke, while Jiraiya shook his head with his eyes closed. Tsunade had an idea of what kind of training Jiraiya was talking about, and decided to assuage Naruto's thoughts for him. "The kind of training you're going to be doing isn't something you can learn here," she explained to him, watching Jiraiya out the corner of her eye in case she said something wrong. "Only the great Toad Sage's of Mount Myōboku will be able to help you with this training, so you need to travel to the land of the toads for this."

Naruto still looked a little hesitant about having to leave, especially now that he knew that the Akatsuki was going to potentially show up on their front door step sometime soon. But he'd already been lectured about something similar like this before. Just because he was leaving, didn't mean the entire village was going to fall apart. It could stand on its own without Naruto around, as it had been doing during his training trip. If this training was going to make him strong enough to fight the leader of the Akatsuki though, then he supposed it couldn't hurt to go. He nodded to himself, mind seemingly made up. "Okay, so when do we leave Pervy Sage?"

Jiraiya's eye twitched at the name, and idly wondered if Naruto only continued to use the name to get a rise out of him. 'Damned brat. Never gives me any respect.' Even as those thoughts crossed his mind though, he was looking forward to spending a little more time with his godson in the calm before the storm so to speak. Things were going to start escalating soon, and it was all going to start with the attack by Pain. He just knew it.

He shrugged off those thoughts and scribbled another quick note, this time handing it to Naruto. 'I can't make hand seals properly with just one arm - not yet at least - so for now, I'll need Naruto to summon for me.'

Naruto slowly lowered the page and squinted at his sensei. "So I just think of this toad's name while using slightly less chakra than normal and it should work?" A stiff nod from Jiraiya was his answer, and Naruto shrugged his shoulders. That settled that then. Biting his right thumb and running through a few hand seals, he slammed his hand down onto the top of Granny Tsunade's desk as a sealing formula spider-webbed out from beneath his palm. " _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_ _ **(Summoning Technique)**_!"

A small puff of smoke erupted from the spot around his hand, revealing a red coloured toad with blue markings around its eyes and on top of its head, a pair of green goggles hanging lazily around its neck. It raised a single webbed hand in greeting, a happy grin on its face. "Yo, the name's Kōsuke. What can I do to help?"

Naruto had a wide grin on his face as he pumped a fist into the air, having succeeded in summoning the specific toad Jiraiya wanted. He quickly handed the toad the page he'd been given by Jiraiya and flashed the small toad a thumbs up. "We need you to deliver this message as fast as you can. It's super important, so you've got to hurry!"

The toad rolled the message up and gripped it firmly in its left hand, giving Naruto a reassuring grin while saluting with his right hand. "You've got it! Just leave it to me."

The small toad disappeared in an equally small puff of smoke, and Naruto glanced back at Jiraiya with a slightly curious gaze. "So uh, what now? You said Kōsuke was fast, but you never said how fast—"

In another puff of smoke, Naruto was gone, and Jiraiya turned his gaze down to look at Tsunade. He raised his hand towards her face, and her eyes instinctively closed as she anticipated his touch, but before he could make contact, another puff of smoke enveloped the office, and Tsunade was left alone once again. She let out a soft sigh before noticing a small paper lying folded on her desk with her name written on top. Tentatively she pulled the page closer to herself, gently unfolding it and gazing within. A glowing smile found its way to her lips.

 _Don't miss me too much while I'm gone Tsunade. We still have some unfinished business, so I'll see you soon. Now that I've got you, I'm never going to let you go. Take care..._

 _—Jiraiya_

She folded the page and slipped it into her desk drawer before grabbing her pen and looking back down at the work she'd been doing earlier, carrying on where she'd left off. 'I'll be waiting for you Jiraiya.'

* * *

 _Mount Myōboku..._

* * *

Jiraiya arrived in a cloud of smoke with only a slight feeling of vertigo, a reminiscent feeling of his less than stellar health at the moment. He easily shook it off though as he took in the familiar surroundings of the land of the toads, smiling widely at the scenery. The climate was as tropical as ever, the oversized plants that were so generic basking in the vibrant sun. The serene nature of this land gave him an odd sense of peace. 'It's been a while since I lasted visited,' he thought a little guiltily.

It had been a while though. If he was correct, it was right before he'd went off on his journey of discovery away from the village and through the Elemental Nations, in search of the child of prophecy. After he'd come back from the Land of Rain, thinking Nagato to be the child of prophecy, he'd been denied chance to visit yet again by Orochimaru betraying the village and subsequently becoming a missing ninja. How much time had he spent trying to hunt down his old teammate for revenge, and then in the end, Naruto's class mate who had similarly gone rogue ended up offing him instead. Irony made itself known in the most inconvenient of times.

His thoughts were interrupted as Naruto suddenly appeared in his vision, his godson's face a mixture of confusion and awe. "Hey Pervy Sage, is this Mount Myo—whatever you called it?"

Jiraiya nodded his head in the affirmative, though rolled his eyes at the blonde in amusement. 'I'm not surprised he can't remember the name. I guarantee the brat wasn't even listening to half the things Tsunade was saying.'

A throaty chuckle was heard several seconds after as a small green toad landed between Jiraiya and Naruto. "The Pervy Sage huh? I couldn'a thought of a more fittin' name myself." The toad had white hair styled in somewhat of a mohawk, with thick eyebrows and a small goatee, as well as a high collared cape.

Naruto looked a little affronted at somebody so casually demeaning his master by calling him 'Pervy Sage', despite the fact that he himself only used the name. It was beyond ironic, though Naruto didn't seem to notice one bit, and Jiraiya almost face palmed at the idiocy of it. 'Irony _is_ wasted on the dense as they say.'

Jiraiya nevertheless turned down to the small toad and offered a kindred smile, bowing his head lowly and speaking in a soft rasp. "It's good to see you again Boss. I never had a chance to thank you, but if it wasn't for your quick actions, I'd most likely be dead. This hoarse voice of mine is pretty much the extent of my injuries. And my arm of course, but I can hardly complain considering I basically died."

Naruto's eyes widened ever so slightly at that titbit of information. Hearing that this toad had saved Jiraiya's life, not to mention his master addressing the toad as 'Boss'... it did a great job of calming Naruto down, and he found himself developing a sense of respect for the miniature toad. His face still soured a little at the reminder that Jiraiya had lost his arm. He felt like it was a great injustice to someone like his master, who had done nothing but endure during his tenure as a shinobi. His dream was to bring about peace in the Elemental Nations, and for someone like that to have to lose their arm… the thought just angered him more, so he cut that line of thinking and focused back on the small toad.

Fukasaku smiled grimly, though looked just as relieved as Jiraiya felt. "I'll admit it was a close one, but it seems everthin' worked out in the end." He clapped his hands together and looked between the pair of student and master, gesturing behind him with a flick of his hand. "But before we begin anythin', let's eat first. Ma's been preparin' some food for lunch, so you're just in time."

Naruto's eyes lit up at the prospect of eating a good meal, and he raced after the small toad all too eagerly. Jiraiya on the other hand snickered knowingly, shaking his head as he followed at a more sedate pace. Oh, he knew just what kind of _food_ Ma was cooking, and although he himself was used to it and knew what to expect, Naruto was sure as hell going to be in for a surprise. 'I wonder how Naruto likes his caterpillars.'

XxX

Naruto's reaction to the news of lunch was as entertaining as Jiraiya had expected, and truth be told, he'd never once seen his godson as quiet as he was now. Jiraiya found himself stifling his chuckles more than a few times as they sat respectfully within the small home of the two toads, Naruto fighting valiantly to school his features into one of appreciation as his 'lunch' squirmed lethargically on the plate before him.

Jiraiya took it all in jest and bowed graciously to Shima, grabbing the small spoon and gently bringing some of the broth in his bowl to his lips. He hummed in appreciation, sending her a wide grin. 'Ah, now this takes me back...'

He glanced towards Naruto out the corner of his eye and found his godson honest to goodness gaping at him. Jiraiya was unable to keep himself under control this time and outright laughed, his throaty chuckle taking on a raspy pitch. Naruto was looking a little confused now, but the pair of toads were going about business as usual, seemingly used to the white haired man's behaviour, even after all these years. Jiraiya just gestured at the food that was plated before his godson with a smug grin. "Eat up while it's still warm Naruto. You can't do any training on an empty stomach."

Shima winced at the grating sound of his voice, and disappeared before reappearing a moment later with a glass of green liquid in her webbed hand. "Here, drink this Jiraiya-boy. It'll help ease ya throat." Jiraiya nodded in thanks as she carried on with her housework. He sent his godson a glance as he sipped on the bitter tasting liquid, his face breaking out into a dubious grin.

Naruto sent Jiraiya a withering glare before gulping audibly and looking down at the plate of—he gulped again—caterpillars. He gingerly reached for the twitching insects that had been boiled to perfection, two fingers carefully bringing his catch towards his mouth. Time seemed to slow as he oh so carefully plunged the insect whole heartedly into his mouth, being careful not to allow it to touch the sides of his lips.

Naruto closed his mouth and immediately wished he hadn't, the texture alone sending shrills careening up and down his spine. Tentatively he bit down, a sickening crunch that sounded like a bang echoing in his ears. The taste was definitely worse now, infinitely more so, and he bravely took one more bite before swallowing the rest whole with great difficulty. Before the insect even left his mouth, a glass of water was already being pushed to his lips, water spilling out at the edges as he attempted to flush down the creature and rid some of the lingering taste.

Jiraiya watched the entire proceeding with a twisted sense of humour, laughing at the predicament Naruto had found himself in. After a couple more times of watching his godson put himself through agony though, he decided that the blonde had suffered enough. Grabbing his pen and notepad, he quickly jotted down a message before handing it to his godson wordlessly. 'I guess I can take it a little easy on you for now.'

Naruto eyed the paper wearily, his face looking slightly pale, though ultimately decided to see what Jiraiya had to say. Naruto looked between the note and Jiraiya a few times before grabbing one of the insects on his plate and generously smothering it in a dip of some kind in the middle of the table, a dip he'd written off as some sort of paste made from crushed insects. In other words, something that he should stay _very_ far away from. Turns out he was wrong though.

Just as before there was a slight hesitation as he placed the insect inside his mouth, but this time his entire face didn't cringe at the invasive taste, and he swallowed the caterpillar in the next second with ease. Whatever that dip was, it greatly helped with the process of forcing this 'food' down, and Naruto sent his godfather a thankful glance before finishing the rest of his plate with haste.

When he was finished, Jiraiya cleared his throat and pointed back in the direction they'd first appeared. "Why don't you go find Gamakichi so long and catch up? We'll come find you in a minute and get everything started then."

Naruto couldn't have looked more relieved if he tried, and he stuttered a hurried thanks to Shima before scurrying off. Once Jiraiya was sure Naruto was gone and well out of earshot, he turned a somewhat serious gaze to Fukasaku and cleared his throat again, finding it feeling a lot less scratchy after whatever it was Shima had given him. "Before we begin the training, I just thought you should know that I'm almost certain Naruto is the child the Great Toad Sage prophesised about."

Fukasaku's eyes widened imperceptibly, and even Shima ducked her head back into the room, staring at Jiraiya in surprise. "You mean that boy is the child of prophecy?"

Jiraiya nodded in the affirmative. "I've never been surer about it. Back when we were fighting Pain and I was on the brink... I came to a realisation. I'd always though that it was Nagato," he explained, taking a small sip of the green liquid to ease his throat before continuing. "I mean he had the Rinnegan, so in my eyes it had been almost too obvious. But it turns out I was mistaken. Horribly so. I know I've said I'd found the child of prophecy before, more than a few times, but this time is different. This time, I really mean it when I say that Naruto _is_ the child of prophecy."

Fukasaku scratched the tip of his goatee contemplatively, his eyes narrowed in thought. "If what you're sayin' is true, then we've got no time to waste. We haven't heard the last of Pain, and it won't be long before he comes knockin' on the Hidden Leaf's front door."

Jiraiya nodded grimly. He and Tsunade had come to the same conclusion earlier. They were going to need all the help they could get, so Naruto needed this training. Speaking of which... "I hope it's not too late Boss, but I was hoping that while we're training Naruto, I could finish my own training. I never really got around to mastering Sage Mode back when I was on my journey to find the child of prophecy, or chasing that bastard Orochimaru all over the Elemental Nations, and now is as good a time as any to finish it."

If anything Fukasaku's grin got wider, and he hopped atop Jiraiya's shoulder as they left the small cottage. "As if you had any choice in the matter Jiraiya-boy. I think it's about time you finished ya trainin' too. Ma and I aren't gonna live for ever you know."

Jiraiya snorted at that. "You might not live forever, but you'll sure as hell outlive me." He nodded his head gratefully though, an excited grin lighting up his features as they strolled through the foliage of Mount Myōboku at an even pace. "Thanks Boss. Now let's go find that godson of mine. We've got some training to do."

* * *

 _ **AN: Here's the next chapter. Also still a relatively small one, only 2.8k words. After this one the chapters should all be roughly 4k words, so updates won't be coming as fast as they are now. Any feedback you have is appreciated, hope this chapter was all right.**_

 _ **ShadowedNara**_


	5. Training Begins

_In a moment of adrenaline-fuelled panic, Fukasaku makes a split second decision that wrests our favourite toad sage from the cold grasp of death!_

 ** _AN: Here's the next chapter guys, it's a bit longer and I think I covered everything I needed to. I didn't really beta or check it, so please excuse any errors. It's hot here and I couldn't be arsed lol. Hope you enjoy it!_**

 **Disclaimer:** **All characters of Naruto and things Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

 **The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant Continues** by ShadowedNara

XxX

 ** _Chapter 2_**

Training Begins

* * *

 _"There's something really cool about knowing that your destiny is SO big that you're not meant to share it with anyone. At least not yet."_

—Mandy Hale

* * *

"What?! What do you mean I have to die?! That—that doesn't even make any sense! How does dying help to make me one with nature?!"

Jiraiya and Fukasaku heard more than saw Naruto as they rounded a particularly large toad statue and entered a small sort of atrium, a rather large toad-shaped fountain centred in front of a narrow waterfall at the far end. It was flowing a brilliant amber, the natural oil home to Mount Myōboku alone pooling in the small pond. It was a very familiar place to Jiraiya, having started his own training here himself. It was nostalgic to say the least, but they had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment, namely Naruto's rather loud voice. And how to stop it.

Fukasaku hopped off Jiraiya's shoulder and landed atop Gamakichi's head, giving the fairly large orange toad a small rap on the head. "Now why'd you have to go and say somethin' like that Gamakichi? You know those weird analogies of yours never help no one but Gamatatsu."

Gamakichi just gave the equivalent of a shrug as he squinted up at Fukasaku, and the small toad sighed softly as he motioned for Jiraiya to step in a little closer before he turned his gaze to the blonde. "Just relax Naruto-boy, don't listen to Gamakichi. Allow me to explain it properly, so don't interrupt until the very end."

He began by explaining the very basics of the basics, the principal of how normal chakra was formed, and the difference that chakra held once you introduced nature energy to the mix, resulting in the creation of sage jutsu. Naruto's eyes were narrowed precariously as words seemed to flow in one ear and out the other, and Jiraiya palmed his face in exasperation as Gamakichi spoke up. "This beautiful idiot hasn't understood a word you've said Lord Fukasaku."

"What do you mean Gamakichi? Was there somethin' wrong with my explanation?"

It was Jiraiya that answered softly, shaking his head in exasperation. "Naruto has a bad habit of forgetting to use that brain of his sometimes, so please do excuse him."

"Hey!"

A quick compromise was made however, and Gamakichi began providing Naruto with explanations he could comprehend, shadowing Fukasaku's every explanation with more Naruto-friendly alternatives.

The small toad sage went on to explain the theoretical process behind gaining the ability to absorb nature energy, and then subsequently allowing a person to sense and draw said energy to them and into their bodies. It resulted in the ability to control the nature energy entering and leaving your body, and the only way to do such a thing was to remain absolutely still.

Fukasaku leapt from Gamakichi's head towards the edge of the pond with a flurry of his cape. "Taking in nature energy is not somethin' that you can immediately do, and it takes quite a lot of time to come to grips with."

"Well then what're we wasting time talking for, let's get started—"

Naruto was cut off as Jiraiya slapped a hand on top of the blonde's head and gripped it tightly, swivelling his face around so that he was looking straight into Jiraiya's eyes. "Don't take this lightly brat. This isn't some run of the mill jutsu you can just practice for a few days and then everything's fine and dandy. Nature energy is dangerous, so a level of respect and discipline is necessary when dealing with it."

Naruto didn't immediately respond and looked a little put out for disappointing his master, but Fukasaku quickly continued where he'd left off. "He's right though. Takin' in too much nature energy can be fatal, and livin' the rest of ya life as a stone toad statue is what awaits those who don't know how to control it," he explained genially, gesturing to all the statues that were scattered around the waterfall. "But don't worry about that. With both me and Jiraiya-boy here, there'll be no turnin' into statues."

Naruto gulped a little at that. Turning into a statue... that certainly _did_ attach a relative amount of danger to it. But it brought up another question that had been bugging him for a while, and he scratched at his cheek curiously. "So uh, if it's so dangerous, why bother learning it at all? I mean, what does it do? Nature energy, I mean."

Fukasaku broke out into a grin, and he gestured towards the white haired man standing beside Gamakichi. "Jiraiya-boy, if you could be so kind as to demonstrate for young Naruto-boy here..."

Jiraiya nodded his head with a small grin of his own before stepping up in front of one of the larger statues, the stone figure itself towering over Jiraiya. He brought his right arm in towards his stomach and closed his eyes, remaining absolutely still as he reached out his senses, pulling on the nearby nature energy and drawing it into himself, slowly and cautiously. Despite being down an arm, his ability to gather nature energy wasn't at all hampered.

It took a little while, but he felt as his body slowly began changing as he absorbed the nature energy, focusing on only drawing in a small amount. He could already feel the small warts beginning to sprout over his growing nose as the nature energy affected his body, the red lines going down his face curving slightly around the bottoms of his eyes.

Gamakichi breathed out in awe. "Whoa, Lord Jiraiya is amazing! Check at him gather all that nature energy."

Naruto however stared on in horror as the face of his master changed, becoming more toad like in appearance by the second. "As you can see Naruto-boy, because Jiraiya-boy has yet to master nature energy himself, he still retains some toad-like features, but such a transformation is not permanent, and it will remain as long as he keeps usin' sage jutsu." Naruto seemed a little more relieved at that information, but still couldn't seem to get over the turning into a toad part, even if it was only partially.

"Just watch brat," was all Jiraiya said before he turned back around to the stone and bent down as if to pick it up, and with one hand no less.

Naruto snorted in disbelief. 'What does he think he's gonna do, pick up that massive statue with one hand—'

A slight trembling of the earth suddenly gave way to strained groans from his master, but before he could protest, the massive statue was lifted off the ground, balancing securely on the palm of Jiraiya's hand. He looked like he was struggling a little under the weight, but the fact that he had even lifted it up at all had Naruto's jaw dropping, eyes bugging out comically at the sight. "Pervy Sage, how did you—"

Words were suddenly lost on the blonde as Jiraiya dropped the statue a little roughly, dropping to a knee and panting heavily as the toad features left his body, returning his face to normal as a thin sheen of sweat caked his body. Even though he was no longer in the hospital, he still wasn't quite at full strength, and that took a lot more out of him than he thought it would. "That, my oh so impatient student," he breathed softly, drawing in quick breaths of oxygen from the exertion. "Was the awesome power of nature energy."

Naruto was still a little star struck from the incredible feat Jiraiya had just pulled off, and he glanced back at Fukasaku as if for confirmation, the small toad nodding up at him with a smile. "Yup. That was the fearsome ability of nature energy enhanced sage jutsu. Right now, you do not possess the ability to sense or take nature energy into your body, but in time, you will learn. In fact, we have somethin' of a shortcut that helps a person to grasp the concept of usin' nature energy. Come over here and hold out your arm Naruto-boy."

Naruto walked up to the edge of the pond and knelt down beside Fukasaku, pulling back his sleeve and holding out his arm. The small frog dipped a finger into the pond, coating it with some of the special oil and smearing it onto Naruto's skin. "This here oil is a special kind of oil only found here in Mount Myōboku, and it allows nature energy to enter the body through any place where you've used it. You should start feelin' the nature energy in the air around us."

Naruto's eyes sagged a little as his body began rocking softly, a goofy smile stretching across his lips. "Oh, I can feel something all right."

His voice was a slur, and Jiraiya cracked a laugh at that as he glanced over at Fukasaku. "Hey Boss, you mind handing me your baton? I'd like to do the honours."

Naruto was completely oblivious to the world around him as he got the feel for nature energy for the first time, his head swimming under its influence. It took a few minutes, but his eyes eventually came back into focus, and he stared down at the arm that had been covered with oil, his face twisting with horror. "Wha—what the hell?! I'm turning into a toad! I thought you said this wouldn't happen! You've gotta do something—"

A loud thwack echoed through the atrium, Naruto falling flat on his back. He was quick to jump back to his feet though with an idignant glare aimed at Jiraiya. "Hey! What's the big idea Pervy Sage?! You didn't have to—"

Jiraiya grinned victoriously, swinging the baton lazily in his hand. "Just stop yapping for a second and check out your hand."

Naruto did just that and was surprised at the lack of webbed hands he had. The transformation had halted, and he was completely human again. He looked at Jiraiya in confusion.

"Whenever you start transforming because of the nature energy, a good beating with this stick reverses it. So no matter what, we won't let you turn into a statue."

Naruto looked at Jiraiya with narrowed eyes. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"Smiling like what?" he answered innocently, twirling the baton between his fingers expertly. "Can't I just be happy to help out my student?"

Naruto continued to stare at Jiraiya long and hard, scratching his chin softly. "I guess..." His sentence trailed off, and his eyes lit up a second later. "So, can we start the training now?"

Jiraiya's grin broadened. "Of course. I'm still feeling a little under the weather, so I'm going to hold off on training today. Instead, I'll be right here by your side every step of the way. There'll be no turning into a statue on my watch," he answered eagerly.

Naruto turned around with a fist pump into the air, ripping off his clothes and stripping to his underwear as he faced the pond. "Let's get started then!"

Jiraiya walked up behind Naruto with a wicked grin, the baton resting lazily on his shoulder. "Oh yes, let's."

XxX

Many thwacks, clones and bruises later, a thoroughly exhausted and defeated Naruto lay beside the pond, his breathing laboured and every part of his body hurting and aching. "What kind of master... finds joy in beating up their student?"

A highly pleased Jiraiya sat just off to the blonde's right, the baton lazily held between his fingers and a content smile pulled across his lips. "Don't make such a fuss, those were barely love taps."

Naruto let out a short laugh laced with sarcasm, the kind of laugh that said 'we _both_ know you don't believe that'. He got up to his feet though and stretched his arms above his head, his eyes drawn to the dipping sun. It was nearing later afternoon.

Jiraiya seemed to notice as well, and he deposited the baton into his haori. "Okay Naruto, I think that's enough for today. You've made good progress, so let's go grab some food, get some rest, and then we can start again in the morning."

Naruto nodded to his master. "All right Pervy Sage, lead the way!"

"And stop calling me that brat! Do you enjoy intentionally getting on my nerves?"

Naruto just walked after Jiraiya with his hands held behind his head, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "I don't know what you're talking about."

* * *

 _A couple days later..._

* * *

Jiraiya glanced over at his godson who was deep in concentration, gathering and manipulating the nature energy around him as if he'd been doing it for years. He'd come a long way, and although he was making leaps and bounds, he was still not quite able to remain absolutely still yet. But that was something they were planning on jumping into tomorrow.

Jiraiya released the hold he had on the ambient nature energy around him and breathed out a sigh of exertion.

He remained seated however and watched Naruto for a little bit longer, basking in the quiet that ensued due to the nature of their training. That quiet was quickly broken by a thwack on the head, courtesy of Fukasaku, followed by a pained squeal from Naruto. Jiraiya took that as his cue and jumped to his feet, stretching his legs out before lumbering over to his godson. "Hey Naruto, that's enough for today. Let's take a break. I've got something I want to show you."

Naruto rubbed the top of his head with moistened eyes, slowly getting to his feet as well. His head was paining a little from the repeated whacking, and he had something of a headache, but his discomfort quickly gave way to excitement as he registered what his master had said. "Yeah? What is it Pervy Sage?"

Jiraiya grinned over at his pupil. "Just follow me and I'll show you." He then turned to the small toad on the ground and mock saluted. "Thanks for all your help today Boss. We'll meet you back at the cottage a little later."

Fukasaku dispelled the baton and waved lazily. "That's fine with me Jiraiya-boy. You boys could use a good rest. You've been workin' yourselves overtime these past couple of days."

Jiraiya through his right arm around Naruto's shoulder and directed them on their way, a few minutes of walking eventually leading them to the top of an unnaturally large tree, the leaves themselves the size of a small apartment. He sat them down on one end and pulled a small book out of his haori. He ran his thumb over the soft cover of the book before handing it over to his godson with a slightly subdued expression. "I want you to read this book. It's not terribly long, and it shouldn't take you more than a few hours. I know I said we should take a break, but think of this as some extra training to remain still."

Naruto took the offered book, his eyes scanning the title on the front. "'Tales of a Gutsy Ninja'. Hey, what are you gonna do while I'm busy reading this? And this better not be another one of those books that looks half decent but is actually more porn!"

Jiraiya barked a laugh at that before ruffling Naruto's hair playfully. "Ha, don't worry, it's nothing like that. I'm gonna head over to Boss to grab us some snacks. I'll be back before you know it."

Naruto broke out into a grin at that. "Ooh ooh, ask Granny Shima if she can throw in some of those rhinoceros beetle larvae! Those are by far the best!"

A dubious grin lit up Jiraiya's face at hearing that. "Starting to enjoy the food are we? You're becoming more toad-like every day."

Naruto's face paled a little at that. Jiraiya just barked another laugh as he jumped down towards the ground below, leaving before he had a chance to witness any outbursts. Even though he was pretty far on his way however, he still heard the echoing wail from his godson. His grin widened.

"No! Damn it he's right! I really am becoming more like a toad! This is all your fault Pervy Sage!"

XxX

The snacks proved to be a good idea as Jiraiya and Naruto sat in amiable silence atop the leaf. Naruto was nose deep in the book Jiraiya had given him, his eyes glued to the pages of the book. Jiraiya smiled softly. 'Seems he's actually enjoying it. Just like his father. I'm glad.'

Jiraiya himself was sitting a little off to Naruto's right, draft pages scattered around him as he skimmed over ideas for a new book. It had been a while since he'd thought about releasing another one, but after some prodding strangely from his godson, he found himself at the drawing board. He was thinking something along the lines of his Icha Icha series, though with a little less sex and a little more romance. His novels had always been centred on his life's adventures, and this one would be no different. 'I'll regale my readers in the legendary tale of how I wooed that frighteningly beautiful teammate of mine Tsunade. It'll be a best seller for sure!'

The rest of the afternoon was spent in relative silence, the only sounds coming from the surrounding nature itself and Jiraiya's pen as he worked frantically to get some headway on his latest idea. He didn't know how long they'd been there, but the light was quickly fading. It was nearing early evening now, and the hole those snacks had filled in their stomachs was slowly opening again. 'Definitely need to go get some supper soon.'

The snapping of a book being closed drew Jiraiya's attention, and he glanced up at Naruto to see a soft expression on his pupil's face. "This book was great Pervy Sage. And I couldn't help but notice the main character's name was Naruto too, which just adds to its awesomeness."

Jiraiya smiled wistfully. "You know, you were named after him. The character of my book, I mean. Your father said he wanted you to grow up to be just like him. Determined, and with the guts to never give up. He'd be proud of you, Naruto. And so would your mother."

Naruto's eyes had widened, and his loud overbearing voice was suddenly lost on him, his words coming out as barely a whisper. "My—you knew my parents?"

Jiraiya nodded his head, moving over to his godson and sitting himself to Naruto's left, gently taking the book from his hands. "Of course I did. I was your father's master after all."

Naruto's eyes widened even further, and it seemed like the cogs in his mind were turning, puzzle pieces sliding into place. 'One more little push...' Jiraiya thought softly.

He turned a few pages of his book, flipping towards the end of the book and opening it on the second to last page. This book was a limited edition copy that was only printed twice. One for Jiraiya, and the other for Minato himself. It revealed a picture of Jiraiya standing beside Minato and Kushina, her belly rounded out. She was likely in the last few weeks of her pregnancy. Both Minato and Kushina looked so happy, bright smiles on their face.

Jiraiya handed the book back to Naruto, leaving the page opened. "Your mother was Kushina Uzumaki, a beautiful and fiery redhead that could make even the most elite jōnin drop to their knees in fear. You inherit a lot of your personality from her." Jiraiya sighed softly, reminiscing the old days. "And your father... was Minato Namikaze—"

"The Fourth Hokage," Naruto managed to breathe out, his eyes wider than ever and a sheen of moisture coating his eyes. "But why—I...I don't understand. If he was my father, then why'd he seal this stupid fox into my stomach? Why would he—and do it to his son—"

Jiraiya threw his right arm, his only arm around Naruto's shoulders and drew him in close, Naruto's body shaking softly with quiet sobs. "He could hardly have sealed the fox into someone else's child when he was so against sealing it into his own."

Jiraiya's voice was soft, and Naruto's sobs had mostly subsided. "Minato was a shrewd man. He never did anything without a clear cut reason. That being said, he wouldn't have sealed it into you if he didn't believe you could handle it. You are the son of the Fourth Hokage after all."

They stayed like that for a while longer, Jiraiya's arm securely around Naruto's shoulder, Naruto's head resting comfortably in the crook of his godfather's chest. Shuffling from Naruto drew Jiraiya's attention, and he glanced down at his godson who was clutching the book firmly within his hands. "Do you mind if I—"

"Of course Naruto. You don't even have to ask. It's yours. It's always been yours, I've just been holding onto it for you."

Naruto brought the book up to his chest and sniffed softly. "Thank you... Jiraiya- _sensei_."

Jiraiya ruffled Naruto's hair playfully and glanced up at the starry sky overhead. "You don't need to say thank you either." He waited a few more minutes before eventually clearing his throat and gently standing up, pulling Naruto with him. "Come on Naruto, how's about we head on back and get some food. It's getting late."

Naruto nodded his head, clutching the book to his chest as if it were a life line. "Okay. Let's go."

* * *

 _ **AN: And that's a wrap people. Hope it was an enjoyable chapter, trying to make them longer now and hope to continue with this chapter size. Hope the content was all right too. I felt it right to have Jiraiya inform Naruto of his heritage. If Naruto seems like he didn't really react, it's probably because it had been a long day of training, and finding out about his parents just took the rest of his energy left, leaving him fairly exhausted. He didn't have much energy to question further, even if Naruto ALWAYS has energy. Just, roll with it. Please?**_

 _ **So yeah. All my exams except for one went really well, so I've got something of a re-write. Which means more studying... ugh. I'll probably be away again until around the 15th of December, and then I'll try get out one more chapter before I have a Christmas break. Any ways, that's all from my side. Thanks for reading and for all the support you've given so far, I truly appreciate it!**_

 _ **ShadowedNara**_


	6. Honoured Sage Mode

_In a moment of adrenaline-fuelled panic, Fukasaku makes a split second decision that wrests our favourite toad sage from the cold grasp of death!_

 ** _AN: Damn, don't know where this came from, but apparently I was really excited and managed to write up another whole chapter in less than two days! Who would've thought. Well, hope you enjoy the chapter, next chapter should see us returning to the Hidden Leaf!_**

 **Disclaimer:** **All characters of Naruto and things Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

 **The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant Continues** by ShadowedNara

XxX

 ** _Chapter 3_**

Honoured Sage Mode

* * *

 _"We always say start strong, finish stronger."_

—Chris Griffin

* * *

"So uh, if I was named after the character in your book, does that make you my godfather or something?" Naruto's voice was wavering on the line of sounding hopeful, though if Jiraiya noticed, he didn't comment. The two were walking single file through the overgrown flora of Mount Myōboku, heading onwards to another day of training. It was a beautiful morning as always.

"You got it in one," Jiraiya answered with a smile, pushing an outstretched branch of foliage out of their direct path. "Although I still questioned Minato's sanity when he did, but he was pretty adamant."

"What are you talking about Pervy Sage? You're a great master! It's an honour to be named after—"

Jiraiya wasn't even listening anymore as he quickly cut into Naruto's sentence. "Hey, what happened to Jiraiya- _sensei_?! You were doing so well yesterday," he grouched indignantly, glancing back at Naruto. "Just when I thought we were finally making some progress…"

Naruto wore a smug grin as he followed his master, holding his hands behind his head as he followed on casually. "That was a one time deal Pervy Sage. With that porn that you always write, how can I call you anything else?"

The question was phrased so innocently, that Jiraiya almost believed it, but the small up-twitch of his godson's lips gave him away. Jiraiya just turned back to the front and grumbled softly under his breath, whacking another stray leaf out of his path. 'I'll have you calling me Jiraiya-sensei one of these days. I _will_ be rid of the name Pervy Sage, just you watch.'

Even as he thought that though, he couldn't quite believe it himself. It was a bit of an empty promise if there ever was one.

He was brought out of his musings by Naruto's loud voice drifting through the air. "Hey, aren't we training at the waterfall today?"

"Nope. You still haven't quite grasped the concept of staying completely still," Jiraiya answered quickly. 'And to be honest, neither have I. It's probably one of the only reasons why I still can't use nature energy properly yet.'

Their surroundings slowly switched from the abundance of plants and trees to a complete lack of them, the area opening up into a type of desert with many tall and sharp spires made of rock, scattered all over as far as the eye could see. "For the next few days, this will be our training ground. This is where you're going to learn to remain absolutely still."

They walked for a bit longer before eventually coming to a pile of stone square-shaped slabs, with the familiar faces of Gamakichi and Lord Fukasaku sitting nearby idly. "Ah, Jiraiya-boy, Naruto-boy; I was beginnin' to wonder where you two had gotten off to."

"Yeah, I was thinking maybe you'd chickened out Naruto," Gamakichi offered with a laugh, sending a wide grin in Naruto's direction.

It had the desired effect of getting a rise out of Naruto, and said blonde stepped forward with a fist raised. "Hey! I'd never chicken out! I don't quit and I don't run! You should know that better than most 'Kichi."

"Any ways," Fukasaku cut in, rolling his eyes at the two going at it. "Let's begin with ya training. Your manipulation of nature energy has come a long way, but now it's time to master the art of remainin' absolutely still." He sent a pointed glance in Jiraiya's direction, a small grin on his lips. "This is where the hole in Jiraiya-boy's training is. You did manage to stay still, but you always struggled applyin' it to the way you gathered nature energy. So if you can perfect this, I'm sure you'll have mastered ya trainin' once and for all."

Jiraiya actually stood a little taller at the remark, and he couldn't help the eager smile that tugged at his lips. 'I knew it! This was always the most difficult part for me.'

Lord Fukasaku hopped off the top of Gamakichi's head and onto one of the many stone slabs that were piled at the edge of a collection of stone spires, drawing both Jiraiya's and Naruto's attention. "All you've got to do is balance one of these here slabs on top of one of those spires and meditate. If you waver in your concentration even a little, you'll lose your balance and fall to the bottom."

Naruto spied the many spikes and tips of rock that were jutting out the ground beneath the spires at the top, gulping audibly. "F-Fall to the bottom you say?"

"Don't worry Naruto-boy. I'll be here to catch you whenever you lose concentration, so there's nothin' to worry about."

Jiraiya grabbed a slab and hauled it over his shoulder, glancing behind him at Naruto. "Better hurry Naruto, or your old master is gonna leave you in the dust."

A determined look came over Naruto, and he brought his hands up into his familiar and most commonly used jutsu. " _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ _ **(Shadow Clone Technique)**_!" A trio of clones puffed into existence beside him, each grabbing a stone slab and following Jiraiya to the top. "Oh no you don't Pervy Sage! There's no way I'll lose to you!"

Fukasaku watched as the blonde followed after his master with a small smile on his face. 'You've chosen yourself an amazin' student Jiraiya-boy. He's just as gutsy and determined as you. Well, best get up there and make sure Naruto-boy doesn't skewer himself.'

XxX

The afternoon soon morphed into a day, a day soon morphing into days. It was as hot as ever during the first two days, the sweat rolling off both their bodies as they meditated motionlessly atop the spires. Naruto's first day involved a lot of falling and losing of concentration, but by the second day he was markedly better. Staggeringly so even.

'The way he uses those shadow clones to speed up his training is ingenius. I can't believe I'd never thought to do that before myself. Even if I can't spam the jutsu the way he does, one clone alone would double the training experience,' Jiraiya thought in awe. It was unbelievable. 'But I'd expect nothing less from you Naruto.'

Their third day sparked the beginning of a small rain storm, the first rain Naruto had seen in the place since they'd arrived actually. It was a welcome change though, the exorbitant heat slowly wearing on the pair of master and student. Additionally, it was just another obstacle to increase the challenge of their training, but not an unwanted one.

Fukasaku watched from his spot in front of Naruto and Jiraiya, the small toad perched atop a slab the same as the two before him. He was balancing on his though with no difficulty whatsoever, and it seemed that Naruto and Jiraiya were beginning to enter the final phases of the training.

'They're slowly amassin' larger amounts of nature energy, even more than when they were usin' the trainin' oil. It's incredible, and I daresay Naruto-boy is gatherin' even more than Jiraiya-boy.'

It was completely unnoticeable to the naked eye, but to Lord Fukasaku, it was plain as day. The ambient nature energy that was so abundant around them was pooling around the two ninja, gathering at the centre's of their beings and being manipulated to synchronise with their mental and physical energies.

The small toad watched as Jiraiya's eyes slowly began changing, a second set of red lines descending down his face and curving back around towards his ears, crossing over his original red lines. There were also red rings forming around his eyes, the pupil's of his eyes themselves becoming barred. The lack of extra warts, bulbous nose and webbed hands or fingers had Fukasaku's eyes widening in astonishment. 'He—you've done it Jiraiya-boy! You've finally perfected it!'

His attention was then drawn to Naruto who was sitting a little off to Jiraiya's left. Just as with Jiraiya, there was a ring of pigmentation gathering around his eyes, though Naruto's was orange in colour. His irides were changed to that of yellow instead of the usual azure blue, and his pupil's, like Jiraiya's, were barred as well.

Fukasaku's smiles was threatening to split his face. "Well… how do you two feel? I can very proudly announce that you've both managed to perfect nature energy, and have entered what I like to call Sage Mode. I'm proud of you Jiraiya-boy. And you as well Naruto-boy."

Jiraiya grinned somewhat bashfully at Fukasaku, soaking up the praise despite how self-conscious he felt now in front of his master. It had taken him a while, but he had finally perfected it. "Thanks Boss!"

Naruto was grinning as well, though his smile was a little more reserved. "I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this nature energy thing. Have we really finished the training?"

Fukasaku hopped from his spot over to a spire that sat between Naruto and Jiraiya, hanging firmly to the side of the rock to avoid the sharp tip. "Not quite Naruto-boy. While you've mastered the gatherin' of nature energy and acheivin' Sage Mode, there's one more thin' left I have to teach you. And you as well Jiraiya-boy. I was never able to teach you the next part because you'd never managed to master Sage Mode, but now that ya have, we can enter the final stage of your trainin' here. Follow me."

And with that, the small toad hopped down towards the ground, landing with nary a sound as he hit the stone floor of the pile of rock slabs. Naruto and Jiraiya followed soon after, both bringing with them their stone slabs and placing them gently back down on the pile. "So what's this new training Boss? I've gotta say, even I'm a little intrigued," Jiraiya questioned in interest, eager to get onto the last part of the training.

Lord Fukasaku smiled at the two and raised a fist up high. "For the next part of our trainin', I'll be teachin' you two how to spar like a true sage using Frog Kumite. Now that your bodies have been activated in various ways, with increased speed, improved reflexes and what not, you have the capability of performin' this unique brand of taijutsu."

The small toad glanced behind him at the larger orange toad named Gamakichi and beckoned him over. "Do you think you could go and fetch us all some supper from Ma? To go, that is. I'm thinking we'll eat out here tonight while we get a handle on this trainin'."

The orange toad gave a serious salute before hopping away into the distance. "You've got it Lord Fukasaku!"

Fukasaku turned back around to Jiraiya and Naruto before jumping straight into his explanation.

XxX

Jiraiya stood opposite Naruto, both with their eyes closed as they gathered the nature energy required to enter Sage Mode. Jiraiya was the first to open his red ringed eyes, waiting just a little longer before his student across from him did the same, eyes ringed by an orange pigment.

"All right. You two have both now entered Sage Mode, so you may begin your Frog Kumite spar as soon as you're both ready," shouted Lord Fukasaku, the small toad sitting atop Gamakichi's head from the sidelines, well away from where the action was about to take place. Sparring in Sage Mode could make a right mess, and there was a high chance of pieces of rock shrapnel flying around the area when they started throwing each other into boulders.

Student and master slowly lowered into their respective fighting stances, Jiraiya falling into a stance that looked eerily similar to the stance he used back when he still had both of his arms. It looked quite strange however when he only had a single arm.

Naruto had fallen into his own stance, a mix between his usual taijutsu style and a Frog Kumite variant. "You ready Pervy Sage? Because I'm about to kick your ass."

Jiraiya grinned back at his student, a smirk dancing across his lips. "Is that so huh? I'm pretty sure you're still a few decades too early to beat me, but you're more than welcome to give it your best shot." His smirk widened further, and he gave a 'come hither' motion with his right hand. "I'll even use only one hand, just to even things out."

Naruto's grin faltered for but a second before determination gripped at his expression. "Don't say I didn't warn you Pervy Sage."

And with that, Naruto launched from his spot at Jiraiya's stationary form, cocking a fist back and preparing to drill him with a mean right hook. Jiraiya dodged the initial swing, the air from the attack brushing past his face. Though that wasn't the only thing that brushed across his face, the aura of nature energy that encompassed both ninja's bodies being used as a weapon as well. The effects of being hit by it were extremely similar to that of Tsunade's super strength technique, in other words, you didn't want to get hit by it. Jiraiya could attest to that through personal experience.

A rather loud thud echoed across the area as the offensive swing of Naruto's nature energy enhanced aura met the defensive barrier of Jiraiya's. The action caused Jiraiya's position to shift ever so slightly as the pressure from the attack budged him backwards. He was quick to retaliate though, sending an impressive upper cut towards Naruto's exposed stomach.

The other thing the aura of nature energy surrounding both ninja did was provide an early warning system for incoming attacks, and it allowed for the increased reflexes garnered through Sage Mode to further improve the ability to dodge.

Naruto leapt up into the air over the offending appendage while simultaneously bringing his hands into the cross seal and wordlessly creating a single shadow clone, using the doppelganger as a spring board to launch himself back down at Jiraiya with impressive speed.

Jiraiya's eyes widened at the intuitive manoeuvre, and he quickly flipped backwards as Naruto descended upon the spot he was previously in with great force, kicking up a massive cloud of dust in the process and rattling the ground below.

Another feature of Sage Mode was the ability to sense the chakra around them, turning even the most inept at sensing chakra into honed sensors. So Jiraiya waited calmly as he felt Naruto within the cloud of dust, sound in the knowledge of his student's location.

He didn't have to wait long as Naruto eventually came charging out, fists and feet swinging rapidly in an attempt to put Jiraiya down. His attacks were fast and ferocious, and they gave Jiraiya no reprieve whatsoever.

Feeling himself getting pressed up into a wall of rock, Jiraiya expertly snaked around Naruto's next punch and shoved his student into the wall instead, sending his right fist towards Naruto's face.

Naruto dodged the punch with ease, making sure to defend against the aura of nature energy that followed the punch as well. The widening of Jiraiya's smirk though did not bode well for him, and it showed in the next instant as he was doubled over in pain, something solid connecting with the blonde's stomach.

Naruto looked down to see nothing but air, but after focusing a little harder, he could feel the ambient nature energy, shaped into something reminiscent of an arm. It was just like what he coated around his own arms when he attacked to increase the range of his attacks, though there was no physical arm with which to manifest it around.

His confusion must have shown, because Jiraiya sent Naruto flying with a roundhouse kick to the face, his student smashing into the surface of another stone spire. "Careful Naruto. Just because I don't physically have a left arm anymore, doesn't mean I'm not still subconsciously coating it in nature energy. Think of it as a phantom limb if you will."

Naruto slowly got back to his feet and massaged his right cheek, warily watching his master. 'Pervy Sage always did hit a lot harder than most. Feels like I got hit by a train!' His eyes narrowed as he stared at the spot his master's left arm should have been, reaching out with his senses and feeling the nature energy pooling there. 'That's a sneaky little trick Pervy Sage… against anyone else that would be one helluva trump card.'

Naruto spat a glob of saliva onto the floor and got back into his stance, launching himself back at Jiraiya with gusto. He feinted left and attacked right, struck low and then struck high. He was pulling out all the stops but was still unable to land a hit on his master. 'I can't let myself forget that even though I'm getting stronger, Pervy Sage is stronger still. He's one of the Legendary Sannin for a reason.'

Naruto continued the onslaught, throwing kicks and punches as fast and numerous as he could before he eventually found purchase in the ground below and used the grip to barrel at Jiraiya. His master was quick to dodge though and moved out of the way, though was caught unawares as Naruto quickly formed a wordless shadow clone, the doppelganger grabbing Naruto's arm and spinning him around before flinging him back in Jiraiya's direction with twice as much momentum.

There was a widening of Jiraiya's eyes before a cloud of dust was kicked up from the impact, Jiraiya's figure flying from the cloud and smashing into a spire in his trajectory. His enhanced durability from Sage Mode helped immensely as he pulled himself free from the rubble and shook off the attack, a dull ache in his chest the only pain he could still feel.

Jiraiya glanced over to his godson to find him grinning like a child, obviously very happy with the hit he'd just pulled off. Well, as his master, it was Jiraiya's responsibility to make sure his student's ego didn't get a little too inflated. It would need to be handled immediately. He smirked. "That was a nice move brat. But now I've got to pay you back two fold for that. Be sure not to blink!"

* * *

 _A couple of days later…_

* * *

Frog Kumite had been on the cards for the past few days, and Lord Fukasaku had even joined in as well, for a little bit of exercise and to just show how far out of his league the two learning ninja were. Despite him being well over eight hundred years old, he was still more than capable of handing Jiraiya and Naruto their asses when they got a little too cocky.

But today was a day of rest from the constant training, both master and student using this time to laze around and rest their bodies. Jiraiya was once again propped up against the comfortable apartment-sized leaf he'd been on when he told Naruto of his heritage. Papers were once again splayed out around him in a circle, and his pen was hanging lazily from his mouth as he proof read a particular paragraph.

He was enjoying the silence, and Naruto was being surprisingly quiet as well. He was sitting off to Jiraiya's right, and he was reading that book again for what had to be the third time. It was what his godson usually ended up doing in his spare time here, though Jiraiya didn't mind at all. The book itself was quite special in what it meant to Naruto, so he could read it as many times as he wanted.

So engrossed in his proof reading was he, that he didn't even notice Naruto until he was hovering right above his shoulder, his eyes squinting down at the paragraph. Jiraiya quickly wretched it away from his godson's sight however and fumbled with all the pages around, quickly gathering them and putting them in a neat pile. "Hey, no reading this until it's finished! It's still largely a work in progress."

Naruto just shrugged his shoulders and scratched at his cheek, looking a little nervous. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at his godson, content on waiting for Naruto to spill whatever it was he wanted to ask. He eventually cleared his throat and glanced down at his master. "Hey uh, Pervy Sage? I was wondering if you could help me with something."

Jiraiya placed his pile of pages safely within his haori before jumping to his feet and facing his student. "What did you have in mind?" Jiraiya's eyes quickly widened. "Oh. _Oooh!"_ His eyes were sparkling proudly now as he slid his arm around Naruto's shoulder and started walking him away in a random direction. "Ah, I guess you are coming to that age, and I'm sure you must be curious about the female body. I'd be happy to help—"

Naruto's eyes had slowly widened further and further in horror before he disengaged himself from his master's grip and wiped at his clothes, as if he'd just been dirtied. "Ugh, get your mind out of the gutter Pervy Sage! That's _not_ what I'm talking about!"

Jiraiya deflated at that and looked a little stricken. "But—but there's no place better for a young male's mind to be!"

Naruto palmed his face at that. "Pervy Sage your—you have a dirty mind. Let's just leave it at that."

His godfather just rolled his eyes however, a sneaky grin dancing across his lips. "Please, I hardly have a dirty mind. It's clear as day that I have a sexy imagination!"

Naruto once again palmed his face, though this time he grabbed Jiraiya by the shoulders and directed him in the opposite direction they'd been walking. "Ah, never mind that Pervy Sage. I was hoping you could help me with this idea I had for one of my jutsu."

Jiraiya allowed Naruto to steer him wherever it was they were going, though he became a little more serious as the topic of jutsu was broached, and he glanced over his shoulder and back at Naruto out of the corner of his eye. "I'm listening. What exactly did you have in mind?"

"Well, it's regarding my _Fūton: Rasenshuriken_ _ **(Wind Release: Rasenshuriken)**_ ," he started off a little apprehensively, remembering what Granny Tsunade had said about the jutsu and its dangers. But he just wasn't satisfied with the fact that he had such a great jutsu and wasn't able to use it. There had to be a way to work around that little snag, and he was hoping nature energy was the key.

There was definitely a notable spark of interest in Jiraiya's eyes now, and he got out of Naruto's grip and began walking beside his godson at his own pace. " _That_ jutsu huh? Tsunade told me what it does to your arm. I suppose you'd like to try and fix that somehow?"

Jiraiya was as sharp as ever, though if he was honest with himself, he just really wanted to see the jutsu itself. It had been Minato's goal to one day infuse his elemental chakra into the Rasengan, and for Naruto to have accomplished such a thing was no joke.

It spoke of an incredible amount of skill in shape and nature manipulation, even if he had managed to achieve it through the abuse of shadow clones. It wasn't how you got there that was the important part, but that you managed to even get there at all. It was the same in this instance. No matter how he managed to achieve the jutsu, he'd achieved it all the same, and no amount of arguing could take away from that achievement. "Okay Naruto, so what did you have in mind?"

* * *

 _ **AN: Okay guys, that's a wrap. I hope that chapter was enjoyable, I realise I wrote it up quite fast, so I'm a little apprehensive about it. I also didn't want to spend too much time on the boring details behind the learning of sage jutsu any more, so I apologise if it feels like they progressed quite fast. There's only so many times I can write up meditation scenes before it starts getting incredibly monotonous.**_

 _ **Other than that, let me know what you think!**_

 _ **ShadowedNara**_


	7. The Cycle of Hatred

_In a moment of adrenaline-fuelled panic, Fukasaku makes a split second decision that wrests our favourite toad sage from the cold grasp of death!_

 ** _AN: And here's our next chapter. Don't worry, there will be action the next chapter! Please enjoy._**

 **Disclaimer:** **All characters of Naruto and things Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

 **The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant Continues** by ShadowedNara

XxX

 ** _Chapter 4_**

The Cycle of Hatred

* * *

 _"A thousand moments that I had taken for granted, mostly because I had assumed that there would be a thousand more."_

—Morgan Matson

* * *

 _The Village Hidden in the Leaves…_

* * *

"Sound the emergency alarm," Tsunade barked, her gaze boring into the special jōnin kneeling before her desk. "The Akatsuki has finally made their move, and we need to eveacuate all the civilians into the shelters immediately. Go. Now!"

The man disappeared in a puff of smoke, and she swivelled on her foot and glanced behind her, eyeing the small red coloured toad with blue markings around its eyes intently. "You there; Kōsuke was it?"

At the nod of its head, Tsunade smiled grimly. "Return to Mount Myōboku and recall Jiraiya and Naruto immediately! With the Akatsuki able to mass up an offensive of this magnitude, we're going to need our heavy hitters back in the village. I'm counting on you."

The small toad saluted her and brought its small webbed hands into a Ram seal. "You've got it Lady Hokage. Just leave it to me!" The toad was subsequently enveloped in a small puff of smoke, signalling its departure. Tsunade turned back to face the front of her office and her mouth opened to address the Anbu standing to her left. Before she could however, her door swung open with a bang, and the dishevelled form of her assistant jogged in.

"Lady Tsunade! I need to show you something…" Shizune was slightly out of breath from her hasty trip to the office, but her breathlessness didn't last long. She brought her hand up to reveal a small piece of metal clutched tightly between her fingers. "These small black rods were scattered all throughout the body of Pain Lord Jiraiya managed to retrieve, and during the autopsy, I discovered something quite unusual."

Tsunade eyed the small cylindrical piece of metal critically, her honed senses picking up on the small thrum of chakra that was eminating through the rod. "What is it exactly?"

"It's a type of chakra receiver. According to the debriefing from Lord Jiraiya after his battle, each of the Pain's had these metal rods imbedded throughout their bodies," she recalled hurriedly, handing her master the small piece of metal to examine more closely.

"And if these are all chakra receivers, then it would suffice to say that they're all receiving chakra from an unknown source of some kind." Tsunade looked upon the chakra receiver intently, the small metal rod warm between her fingers from the gathering of chakra. Even now, it was still receiving chakra. She looked up at Shizune. "This would support the claim Jiraiya made about the real Pain not being among the six that he and the elder toad sages fought."

Shizune's eyes widened somewhat as she caught on to her master's train of thought. "You think—maybe it's some sort of puppet jutsu? And this unknown source could be controlling the Pain's through these chakra receivers?"

"It could mean anything from transmitting chakra between them, to acting as a way for them to communicate with each other." Tsunade looked thoughtful, and handed the small piece of metal back to her assistant. "In any event, take this intel over to Torture and Interrogation, and see if you can find out anything else on Pain's jutsu."

The blonde hokage turned her gaze to the Anbu still standing patiently off to the side. "Anbu, round up Team Gamma and escort Shizune. Once she arrives, protect Torture and Interrogation with your lives. The fate of this battle could rest squarely on our ability to decipher this intel! I'll relocate to the roof and await reports there, while simultaneously healing as many of the injured as I can with Katsuyu."

"Yes ma'am!"

"Let's move out then," she declared loudly, moving for the door with an expression set into fierce determination. "I _will_ protect this village!"

* * *

 _Mount Myōboku…_

* * *

"Well," Lord Fukasaku uttered, picking himself up off the ground and panting a little heavier than usual. "It would seem that the Nine Tails within you is rejectin' my chakra, and it won't allow me to merge with ya."

Naruto's eyes were wide at this information, and Jiraiya's gaze narrowed thoughtfully. "Wha—what do you mean we can't merge?! If we can't merge, how will I be able to gather nature energy in the middle of a battle? There's no way I'll be allowed to sit down on the side of the field and gather nature energy while all my comrades are fighting for their lives around me! I wouldn't let them!"

Lord Fukasaku shrugged his shoulders apologetically. "I'm truly sorry Naruto-boy, but there's just nothin' that can be done about it."

Jiraiya's mind was buzzing however, and he clapped his hand on Naruto's shoulder, eyes still narrowed somewhat thoughtfully. "Quickly make a shadow clone and have it gather nature energy. There's something I want to test."

Naruto furrowed his brows at the odd request, though quickly did as his master told him. It took a few minutes, but eventually his clone gained the orange ringed eyes that signified his ascension into Sage Mode. Naruto glanced back to Jiraiya. "Now what?"

Jiraiya resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Dispel it. I want to see what happens after it dispels while having gathered nature energy."

Naruto's eyes seemed to widen as the implications hit him, and he quickly dispelled the clone, a wide grin slowly springing onto his face as his eyes suddenly became orange ringed, nature energy flowing into him from dispelled clone. "Pervy Sage! You're a genius! Why didn't I think of that?"

Jiraiya rubbed his finger beneath his nose proudly, though looked towards Naruto with a smile. "Given a bit more time I guarantee you would have. With the amount of shadow clones you're constantly using, realisation would have dawned on you pretty damn quickly."

Lord Fukasaku was wearing an impressed expression, and he smiled up at the two ninja. "You know, this might actually work. We can have your clones gather nature energy off on the side lines of the battle, and whenever you run out of nature energy, a simple dispellin' of a clone is all you'll need to re-enter Sage Mode. Truly ingenius!"

"I can only make a few though when I'm in Sage Mode," Naruto provided with a slightly downcast expression. "If I create too many, it becomes difficult to keep control over Sage Mode. At most I'll only be able to have three clones gather nature energy, if I want to be able to use an extra two in battle like I usually do."

Jiraiya threw an arm around Naruto's shoulders, a small smirk on his lips. "Do not fret my youngest of protégés! For with the noblest and most gallant Jiraiya the Toad Sage by your side, no foe shall prove too powerful! We'll be sure to get rid of any enemy before you need to use even _two_ of your clones gathering nature energy!"

The reminder that Naruto would indeed not be fighting alone proved to be enough to ease his worries, and a small grin soon followed his downheartened expression. "Yeah, you're absolutely right Pervy Sage! There'll be no enemy alive who'll be able to foresee the unpredictability of Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage!"

Jiraiya smiled at his godson, recognition flashing through his eyes as he remembered something. "That reminds me Naruto, I've got something for you."

"Another gift?" Naruto's face was a little confused, though the curiosity and excitement he was trying to supress were bubbling to the surface all too fast. "Not that I'm ungrateful or anything Pervy Sage. I really appreciate the book, honest. But…"

Jiraiya removed his arm from around Naruto's shoulder and reached into his haori, pulling out a small scroll and holding it between his fingers. "Don't be silly Naruto. I already told you that the book was yours, I was simply holding onto it for you. So here, take this. Consider it an early birthday present," he added quickly, under-arming the scroll at Naruto.

The blonde caught it deftly, and no sooner had it touched his hands did the scroll fly open, Naruto eyeing the storage seal atop the paper for but a second before applying a small amount of chakra to it.

He was thereafter shrowded in a puff of smoke, and once it dissipated, he was decked out in a solid black short sleeved haori, not dissimilar to the one he saw worn by the Fourth Hokage in his book. Red flames licked at the bottom edges of the haori that came down to just below Naruto's knees, as well as the same red flames at the bottom edges of both the short sleeves.

Naruto eyed himself as best he could, getting in as much of the haori as he could before growling to himself and creating a wordless shadow clone, said clone inspecting Naruto appraisingly from all sides before dispelling. Jiraiya snorted. "You really do abuse that jutsu."

Naruto cracked a small grin at that, sorting through the clone's experiences hurriedly before turning a grateful smile to his godfather. "Thanks Pervy Sage. It looks awesome you know! Just like dad's, only cooler!"

Jiraiya's expression softened at that, and he gestured to the back of Naruto's haori at the lack of words. "I left the back open for now, because I know one day you'll fill it with 'Hokage'. Whether it'll be sixth or seventh is still up in the air, but I'm looking forward to seeing you take the hat the day that you do."

Naruto's eyes glistened with happiness at Jiraiya's words, and he wiped a sleeve across his eyes before any tears could fall, sending his master a mega-watt smile. "You can count on it Pervy Sage. I'll make you proud, just you wait…"

The last sentence from Naruto's mouth was barely a whisper, and Jiraiya was sure it wasn't intended for him to hear, though he still heard it all the same, and he looked content. 'You've already made me proud Naruto. _So_ proud...'

Their heartfelt moment was broken as a small red toad zipped into view at the speed of a bullet, a cloud of dust in its wake. Both Naruto and Jiraiya immediately recognised the toad as the one they'd sent back to Tsunade in case she needed to get a message to them, and the slight look of alarm on the toad's face did not bode well.

Fukasaku leapt back into view then, having momentarily removed himself from the godfather godson moment between Naruto and Jiraiya. "Kōsuke? If you're here, then does that mean—"

The small toad had already caught its breath, and it nodded grimly at the three onlookers before him, speaking quickly. "I'm afraid so Lord Fukasaku. The Akatsuki has begun their assault on the Hidden Leaf, and Lady Hokage has requested that Lord Jiraiya and Naruto return to the village immediately!"

Naruto tried his best not to look outwardly panicked, but inside was a different story, and he silently hoped that everyone was still all right. He whipped his head around at Jiraiya, a determined expression replacing the small amount of uncertainty he'd been feeling a second ago. "Pervy Sage—"

Jiraiya's expression was serious, set in firm expression, and he nodded resolutely. "I know Naruto. It's time we headed back home then. It won't quite be the welcome home party I'd been envisioning, but it will have to do." There was a sardonic smile twitching at the corner of his lips. 'For one, I'd imagined it to involve a lot more of Tsunade, but that will have to wait I guess.'

The tall white haired man turned to Lord Fukasaku, and the small toad spoke before Jiraiya's mouth could even open. "Don't worry Jiraiya-boy. Ma and I will be sure to be by your side, and we ain't leavin' it like last time. Together with Naruto-boy, we'll definitely finish off Pain this time. I'm sure of it."

Jiraiya nodded, a thin smile on his face. "All right Boss. I can't thank you enough." And then they were off, jumping and leaping back towards the cottage they'd been staying at here in the land of the toads. "Let's make a quick stop to go fetch Ma'am, and then we'll leave immediately!"

"Right. Let's go!"

Jiraiya's body language exuded a calmness that belied his true feelings on the matter, and he clenched his lone fist grimly, his knuckles going white. 'Don't worry Tsunade, I'm on my way. Just hold on for a little longer. We'll be there soon, I promise.'

* * *

 _The Village Hidden in the Leaves…_

* * *

It took a few minutes to gather all their possessions, enter into Sage Mode and make sure they were ready for a fight, but before they knew it, they were enveloped in a puff of smoke as the reverse summoning was cancelled.

Pillars of smoke, screams of distress and rocking explosions were what greeted them upon their arrival home, and Jiraiya, Fukasaku and Shima firmly latched to his shoulders, turned to Naruto with a serious expression. "I'm gonna go make sure Tsunade is all right and see if I can make heads or tails of the situation, you—"

"I can feel Kakashi-sensei's chakra is in a bit of trouble, so I'm gonna go give him a hand," Naruto interrupted quickly, his eyes searching as they swept across the village. "Don't worry Pervy Sage, I'll come find you as soon as I can."

Jiraiya grabbed Naruto's shoulder before he could leap away, his eyes boring deep into Naruto's own. "Remember, the Akatsuki is here for _you_ Naruto. Please, use that brain that I know you actually do possess, and _don't_ do anything stupid. Got it?"

Naruto's gaze softened for a brief second before he nodded seriously, turning around sharply. The sudden turn ruffled the edges of his haori, and he leapt away in a cascade of black and red flames.

Jiraiya watched him for but a second before leaping away in the opposite direction, his finely tuned chakra senses pin pointing Tsunade's location. Her chakra was aggravated, and her chakra was saturated throughout the entire village. 'She must be giving her chakra to Lady Katsuyu. We better hurry.'

XxX

Naruto's legs propelled him forward in the direction of Kakashi-sensei. His sensei's chakra was precariously low, and it only fuelled Naruto to move faster. He was a blur as he raced through ruins of the village left in the wake of Pain, and Naruto clenched his fists in supressed rage. 'This… this is unforgiveable! Pain _will_ pay for this!'

Naruto gave one last leap through the air as he landed in the destroyed area where he had felt Kakashi's chakra, vaguely feeling Chōji's chakra leaving the area with great speed, and in the opposite direction. Naruto furrowed his brow at that, though didn't think on it too much, as the slumped form of his sensei came into view. It wasn't his usual lazy slump either, and Naruto's eyes widened in worry as he felt his sensei's chakra, Kakashi's life force feeling barely like a drop in an ocean.

He landed before his sensei with ragged breaths, his eyes wider and more fearful than before as he took in his battered appearance. Kakashi's breathing was even heavier than Naruto's own, and the silver haired man barely caught Naruto's eye. "N-Naruto…"

His sensei sounded horrible, and Naruto placed his hands frantically on Kakashi's shoulders. Kakashi winced in pain however, and Naruto quickly removed them. "Kakashi-sensei! What—what _happened_? Can you move?!"

Kakashi gazed through half lidded eyes at his mentor's legacy, and he managed a small sorrowful smile, his eyes teetering on the edge of staying open. "Naruto… you've become a… fine shinobi…"

Naruto's eyes quickly filled with moisture, and he hung his head low, feeling more than seeing, but not ready to start believing. "Kakashi-sensei? Kakashi- _sensei_! Don't—you can't go, not yet!" Naruto's walls broke, and tears began flowing freely from his eyes. His body wracked with quiet sobs as his tears slowly impacted with the ground below. 'Why… why Kakashi-sensei…'

Naruto felt like his limbs were made of lead. He couldn't move his body, and he honestly didn't want to. Not at the moment. But his better judgement soon won out, and carefully and deliberately, he began removing Kakashi-sensei from his sandwiched position between two large pieces of earth, holding him tentatively within his arms.

He looked down with sorrow at the defeated form of his sensei, and Naruto carefully dragged a hand over Kakashi's eyes, letting him rest in peace as his tears impacted with Kakashi's face. "Hang in there Kakashi-sensei," Naruto wheezed out between sobs, his breathing chaotic. "Granny Tsunade will—she'll know what to do. She _has_ to…"

A blue and white slug the size of a small dog suddenly came into view, its eyes staring intently at the body held in Naruto's arms. "Is he…"

Naruto's voice was suddenly scarce, and he just didn't trust it at the moment. Slowly he shook his head, closing his eyes and trying but failing to allow more tears to slide down his cheeks. 'I know he is, but I—I can't believe it… not until Granny Tsunade says so. I mean, it's Kakashi- _sensei_. How could he—'

Another silent sob racked at his body, and he shook his head softly, leaping away and following the chakra signal of his godfather. 'Kakashi-sensei…'

* * *

 _A few moments earlier, with Jiraiya…_

* * *

Jiraiya along with Fukasaku and Shima sped through the village, sending passing glances over the death and destruction that had befallen the village. It struck a chord deep within Jiraiya, and he couldn't help the small feeling of guilt that twinged at his core, feeling as if his absence had somehow resulted in this mess. He was one of the strongest, if not _the_ strongest ninja of the Hidden Leaf, and he hadn't been here when they needed him most.

His expression was biting, though he didn't allow himself to wallow in his guilt for long. Now that he was here, he needed to make sure that this didn't continue happening, and he shot off in Tsunade's direction with another great Sage Mode enhanced leap, flinging forward at unimaginable speeds.

It wasn't long before he landed atop the rooftop of the Hokage Tower, and his gaze immediately swept over the blonde buxom woman who was seated within a sealing circle, her chakra no doubt flowing unbidden into her summon Katsuyu, which confirmed his thoughts on why her chakra was all over the village. There were a ring of Anbu stationed around her, Team Ro if he wasn't mistaken. The purple hair flowing out from behind one of their masks was unmistakeable, though he paid it no mind as he singled out Tsunade herself. Her eyes opened before he could even get a word out however, and the next thing he knew, her expression turned horrified. Stricken even.

It was only for a second before she steeled herself like any Hokage was expected to in front of her ninja, but Jiraiya had seen it regardless, and his brows furrowed. "What's wrong Tsunade?"

She didn't say a word however, getting to her feet calmly and with purpose before striking out at one of the many raised pillar like objects that encircled the roof of the Hokage Tower, shattering its base and sending the slab of concrete falling down to the ground below.

Her hand went up to her eyes, and she wiped a sleeve across her face quickly before turning to Jiraiya with a watery smile. "My apologies. It's good to see you Jiraiya. You're looking better than ever in fact. I must get back to—"

Jiraiya was already nodding his head as if he'd been expecting the answer all along, and he gestured back to the sealing circle in the middle of the Anbu. "Do what you've gotta do Tsunade. This is your village now, so do what you must to protect it. I'm here reporting in, so use me as you see fit."

She looked grateful and began walking back towards the Anbu, but the yelling voice of Chōji quickly reached her ears, and she turned in his direction as he landed with a skid, tears flowing freely from the rotund ninja's eyes. "What's the matter Chōji? Do you have anything to report?"

The Akimichi clan heir took a moment to compose himself before speaking, his voice cracking slightly from the tears he'd been shedding earlier. "Yes Lady Tsunade! We've discovered one of the enemy's profiles."

At the nod of her head, he quickly surged on, explaining the Pain that they'd encountered, and describing the nature of his attraction and repulsion techniques, as well as the five second gap between uses of the jutsu.

"It's the body of Yahiko, I'm sure of it," Jiraiya suddenly said, his eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed.

She nodded solemnly at Jiraiya before glancing back at the Akimichi heir. "Good work Chōji. This intel will help prevent fewer casualties. Lady Katsuyu has already made contact with everyone in the village, and she will relay this information to everyone."

Chōji's mouth opened as he prepared to continue, his eyes filling with moisture again, though before he could, Naruto suddenly landed atop the roof with his eyes no longer tearing, though they looked a little puffier than usual, his expression hard. "Granny Tsunade, is there anything, _anything_ at all—"

Her head shook slowly from side to side, and Naruto bowed his head lowly, his bangs overshadowing his eyes. "I see…"

He said nothing more after that, and Tsunade gave Naruto a piercing stare before turning her eyes back to Chōji. "You must go back to the scene of the battle, and take Chōza to the hopsital. He can still be saved, but you must hurry Chōji!"

The rotund boy looked up from his position with wide glimmering eyes, and he nodded furiously. "Y-Yes Lady Tsunade! Thank you!" He sent a sad glance in Naruto's direction, sniffing loudly as he fought to hold back more tears before jumping off back towards his father.

Tsunade glanced back at Naruto worriedly, her gaze sympathetic. "Naruto, about Kakashi…"

Words failed to form, and she watched as Naruto gently rested Kakashi's body on the ground, standing back up and staring at her with orange ringed eyes, his yellow irides and barred pupils shining with determination and thinly veiled hatred. "Kakashi-sensei died for the village, died _protecting_ it… and I'll make sure Pain dies for his."

Jiraiya watched the proceedings sadly, and although his greatest of goals were to bring about world peace, by ending the cycle of hatred, he couldn't fault Naruto one bit for wanting to avenge his sensei. 'And so the cycle continues… maybe not in my lifetime, but someday… someday, I truly believe the day will come when people will understand one another, and live in harmony…'

* * *

 _ **AN: Okay guys, that's a wrap. Let me know what you think. I was a little bit undecided on how much to change this part of the series... I've got something worked out, and I just hope that's okay with some of you, but the more drastic changes will be coming after this arc. Please bear with me, that's all I can ask I guess.**_

 _ **I also changed up Naruto's haori slightly, so don't think it was a mistake on my part saying it was black instead of red. I saw a picture of it somewhere as a black haori with red flames, the colours inverted, and it looked way better in my opinion. So yeah...**_

 ** _Still not on holiday yet, but a few more days and then I will be... this one took a few nights before bed to write up, but here it is, so enjoy!_**

 ** _ShadowedNara_**


	8. Know Pain

_In a moment of adrenaline-fuelled panic, Fukasaku makes a split second decision that wrests our favourite toad sage from the cold grasp of death!_

 ** _AN: Sorry for the long wait, Uni has most of my time at the moment. I can't tell you when I'll get time to write up the next one, so I hope you enjoy this one for now._**

 **Disclaimer:** **All characters of Naruto and things Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

 **The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant Continues** by ShadowedNara

XxX

 ** _Chapter 5_**

Know Pain

* * *

 _"Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one."_

—Benjamin Franklin

* * *

Naruto's eyes were brimming with an unbridled hatred and determination that neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade had ever seen from the blonde. His blue eyes were shining with unshed tears for the loss of his silver haired sensei that had died in his arms, and all that raw emotion from witnessing such a thing, all of that rage, was directed at the ring leader behind this attack on the village. The target of Naruto's anger was Pain. 'And I'll make _damn_ sure he feels some pain!'

Tsunade casted one last sorrowful glance towards the boy she thought of as a son before turning to go seat herself back inside her sealing circle. She needed to continue feeding her chakra to Katsuyu so that the villagers and ninja that needed healing could be assisted. She halted in her strides however as she caught sight of a small figure rising slowly into the midday sky, her eyes straining against the glaring sun to see what it was.

"That—it looks like the Pain that the Akimichi kid just described!"

Tsunade, Jiraiya and Naruto's eyes all shot to the sound of the Anbu's voice, and they stared at him for but a second before their attention shifted back to the figure they now knew to be Pain. He was getting higher and higher in the sky, and his body was becoming more difficult to discern as he levitated in line with the sun, the massive yellow star positioned directly behind him.

"All the other Pain's have fled the village," Katsuyu's small voice informed them, the tiny slug slithering up from behind Tsunade and perching itself on her shoulder. "And the summon creatures that were terrorising the village have been dispelled as well."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes as they watched Pain continue to rise, and she ground her teeth together worriedly. "I don't like this. Pain's planning something. He's planning something _big_. We have to try and stop him before he executes whatever scheme he's cooked up!"

Naruto and Jiraiya nodded at her, and the three of them as well as the four Anbu who had been guarding her raced along the rooftops towards Pain. There was a sudden sense of urgency in their leaps, and they pushed themselves as fast as they could to reach him.

Watching as Pain drew his arms out and spread them over the whole village as if to pass judgement like the God he claimed to be brought rise to a feeling of dread, and all their eyes widened in panic as a massive surge of chakra emanated from the man. "What is he—"

Words were quickly forgotten as Pain's deep voice cut across the village like a swathe, a deathly quiet settling over the village as the so-called calm before the storm. "And now… this world shall know Pain. _Shinra Tensei_ _ **(Heavenly Subjugation of the Omnipresent God)**_!"

There was stillness for a second, and then a crushing rumble followed by what felt like an earthquake, the whole village shaking to its very core. Clouds of dust and large pieces of debris from buildings were flung around the inner walls like confetti, and the jutsu itself drilled a massive crater into the centre of the village. The crater dug itself deeper and deeper as the area of effect jutsu expanded further, encompassing the entirety of the Hidden Leaf in its destruction.

The gates to the village spilled open as the build-up of debris was forced outside the walls, and nothing aside from the walls themselves and the Hokage Monument were left untouched by the jutsu. The massive cloud of dust hung lethargically in the air, hiding the extent of the damage from any would be onlookers. It was destruction personified.

A single Anbu kicked back a slab of concrete, looking relatively unharmed, and a massive cocoon of spiky white hair unravelled to reveal an unscathed Naruto, Jiraiya and Tsunade, the latter of which was panting heavily and sporting a sheen of sweat on her brow. Jiraiya sent a cursory glance over her form, his gaze concerned as he worriedly noted the lack of the diamond seal on her forehead. "Are you all right Tsunade?"

"I'm fine, but the village…" She bit her lip in anger, her eyes blazing furiously with hurt. "This—this is unforgivable! What Pain's done here… the village my predecessors worked so hard in order to forge… This is _unforgivable_!"

From the spot they found themselves in, they could see all the damage that had been wrought to the village, and the massive crater that now stood smack bang in the middle of the Hidden Leaf. Naruto clenched his fists in restrained anger, his knuckles going white.

The target of all their emotions descended toward the centre of the crater, disappearing within the dust cloud. Tsunade clenched her own fists before launching herself in his direction, and the others followed wordlessly. Trying to argue with her now would be pointless, and would no doubt result in bodily harm.

She landed in a lopsided crouch as the figure of Pain came into view, and just as they had guessed, it was the Pain that Chōji had described earlier. It was the Pain that resembled Yahiko. Another Pain dropped in behind him soon after, and another puff of smoke cleared to reveal the other five Pain's all in attendance.

Tsunade's breathing was further laboured as she struggled to get up from her crouched position, and she settled for kneeling on one knee. "Why Pain? _Why_?! You've trampled over the jewel of the previous Hokage, destroyed all their hard work and dreams… I cannot forgive you, and I'll settle this, as the Fifth Hokage of the Leaf!"

"It seems you do understand a little about pain," he said in a deep voice, though his eyes narrowed after that. "But I'm not here for you Lady Fifth Hokage, so please get out of my way." His voice was eerily cavalier as he spoke, and the Pain that was comprised mostly of metal shot forward at that moment, coming at Tsunade with great speed and intent to kill.

It's momentum was halted though as it was crushed from above, and a snarling blonde emerged atop it as the small dust cloud cleared. "That's right! You're here for me!" Naruto's face was furious, and the anger was radiating off his body in waves.

"So you are Naruto Uzumaki," Pain stated lowly, his eyes curious as he regarded the blonde that had just dispatched of one his paths of Pain. "Good of you to join us. Saves me the trouble of having to hunt you down."

Jiraiya grabbed Naruto's shoulder and forcefully held him down, preventing him from jumping in further without thinking. "Easy there Naruto. You don't want to rush in there without a clear head." He then turned his gaze down towards Tsunade and gently helped her to her feet, eyeing the Anbu that just landed nearby and beckoning him over. "Take Tsunade away from the fighting. She's in no state to be here."

The Anbu nodded and prepared to escort her back towards the upper parts of the village, but a quick call from Tsunade halted him. "Here Jiraiya, take Katsuyu. She'll allow us to keep in contact with you during your fight. Good luck."

Jiraiya allowed the small slug to slither up his arm before taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Take care of yourself Tsunade. And tell the rest of the villagers not to get involved. Leave this one to me and Naruto. We can't afford to be worrying about everyone else while we're fighting Pain."

She gave his hand a small kiss before nodding her head softly, the Anbu leaping away with Tsunade in his arms. 'Good luck you pervert. Don't you go dying on me…'

Jiraiya watched her go from the corner of his eye, never quite taking all his attention off Naruto and the many Pain's that stood before them. As he judged her to be a safe distance away, he fully turned on the five remaining Pain's and made sure to hold Naruto just a little tighter. His godson was shaking with fury, and Jiraiya was getting a little worried about him fighting in such a state. "Yahiko, Pain, Nagato… whatever you call yourself these days, just know that as your sensei, I'll be guaranteeing your end here today. That duty falls to me as your master—"

"Like hell it does!" Naruto's shout rang loudly in Jiraiya's ears, and his eyes widened in shock as the Naruto he was holding down burst into a cloud of smoke, the real one now darting forward towards the collection of Pain's with a snarl on his face. "If I have anything to say about it, it'll be _me_ that kills him!"

Naruto was flying into the battle in a fit of rage, and Jiraiya could almost fully guarantee that it was because Kakashi had been killed by Pain, the silver-haired man subsequently dying in his student's arms. The destruction of the village definitely added to that, but Naruto was already angry before they'd destroyed the village. Naruto was now fighting solely to avenge his sensei. But he was letting his rage consume him and impair his judgement, and Jiraiya would have to keep an eye on the blonde.

Several large puffs of smoke signalled the arrival of more summoning creatures, and Jiraiya gritted his teeth in annoyance before leaping on after his student, glancing sidelong at the two small toads riding atop his shoulders. "Boss, Ma'am, you think you can take care of those things? I'm going to go after the summoner!"

The two small toads nodded in unison, clapping their webbed hands together and disconnecting from Jiraiya's shoulders for the moment, hanging in mid-air. They stared down at the large rhino and ox-like creatures before their cheeks expanded, their mouths opening in a loud croak that generated piercing sound waves. " _Senpō: Kawazu Naki_ _ **(Sage Art: Frog Call)**_!"

The sound waves encompassed the two summoning creatures, and they were effectively halted in their movements, the jutsu simultaneously distracting and paralysing them.

It had the intended effect of allowing Jiraiya safe passage to the one that had summoned them, and he launched himself in the air, coming down at the summoning Pain with a fist that cratered the earth. A large cloud of dust was kicked up in his wake, but it was quickly dissipated as another large white puff of smoke erupted ahead of him. Jiraiya had to click his tongue in annoyance. "Now what is it?"

His question was answered as a familiar massive two headed dog with small wings suddenly emerged from within the smoke, and his eyes narrowed. 'I know just what to do about you.' Jiraiya bit down on his only thumb before fisting his shirt and lifting it up, holding the edges of the fabric between his teeth. Glancing at his chest, his eyes landed on the intricate sealing tattoo that was drawn over his left breast. He quickly swiped his bloodied finger through the seal and started gathering his chakra. " _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_ _ **(Summoning Technique)**_!"

Jiraiya was suddenly thrusted into the air atop the large magenta coloured toad he'd summoned, and a large sasumata was subsequently plunged on top of the two headed dog, the weapon successfully pinning the summoning for now. "Seeing as you've had experience, I thought you would be best suited to take care of this one Mister Gamaken. Do you think you can keep it busy while I take down the summoner?"

The large toad applied a bit more force into his weapon, plunging it deeper into the ground and further restricting the dog. "I'm quite ungraceful, though it goes without saying that I will try my best!"

Jiraiya clapped the toad on the head before leaping in after the summoning Pain. First thing was first though. Jiraiya had to keep that Pain from summoning again, otherwise he'd just find himself back at square one. He brought his hand into a half Ram seal and focused his chakra as best as he could into his hair, not used to having to use only one hand for this jutsu. 'It's a work in progress I guess.' His hair began growing longer at a rapid pace before shooting off at the summoning Pain, albeit slightly slower than it normally would have. " _Ranjishigami no Jutsu_ _ **(Wild Lion's Mane Technique)**_!"

His hair splintered off into three individual strands, two of which wound their ways down Pain's arms and around his hands and fingers, keeping them from forming any more hand seals. The last strand of hair was a little larger and wrapped around the Pain's neck, winding its way down the rest of his body and keeping his legs from moving.

Pain's body was now completely immobilised, and all he had to do was reel it in and destroy it. If there was one positive thing that came out of Naruto running and gunning against Pain as recklessly as he was, it was the fact that he'd split up their formation and was holding pretty much all of their attention. It gave him free reign to thin their ranks and take the Pain's out one by one if he was given the chance.

A glowing ball of rotating chakra spun into existence atop his outstretched right hand, the summoning Pain being pulled towards him by his jutsu. 'Time to end this one—'

His thoughts were brought to a screeching halt as another of the Pain's suddenly popped up in his peripherals, his eyes widening in silent shock. The Pain had long hair, and Nagato had referred to it as Ningendō if he remembered correctly. It was moving to intercept Jiraiya's rasengan and take the hit instead of his intended target. 'He sacrificed it last time as well. I guess it doesn't have much battle application if he's so ready to use it as a human shield just like before.'

Just before the Pain known as Ningendō could intervene in Jiraiya's attack though, he felt the two small toads Fukasaku and Shima land back on his shoulders, and a tongue suddenly lashed out and wrapped around the interfering Pain's body, flinging it away and leaving him to take out his original target. Jiraiya grinned as he raised the palm of his hand at the incoming summoning Pain, the small orb of chakra growing in size until it was the size of a small ball. " _Ōdama Rasengan_ _ **(Big Ball Rasengan)**_!"

The spiralling sphere of chakra violently drilled into the body of Pain before being launched away with tremendous force, leaving a bloody spiral in the Pain's flesh. Jiraiya breathed a sigh of exertion before glancing sideways at Shima. "Do you think you could perform a _Kekkai: Gama Hyōrō_ _ **(Barrier: Toad Gourd Prison)**_? We don't need this one to be revived again. He's definitely one of the more troublesome Pain's."

Shima nodded her head with a triumphant smile. "Of course Jiraiya-boy. You and Pa just focus on that long-haired fella we just launched away. I'll be ready with the barrier jutsu when you finish him off to capture him as well."

Jiraiya gave a small smile before turning his attention on Ningendō. "Okay Boss, you up to take on one more?"

The small toad punched a fist into his open palm, a ghost of a smirk twitching at his mouth. "One more and then some Jiraiya-boy. Let's make sure Pain regrets the day he ever messed with the Hidden Leaf Village!"

* * *

 _With Naruto…_

* * *

Naruto's eyes were flashing dangerously as he raced forward at Pain, a rather large and rotund Pain taking centre stage and engaging Naruto first. Naruto clenched his fists in anger, his knuckles going white from the strain as he stared hatefully ahead. "You—you'll pay for killing my sensei!"

Naruto lead in with a flying drop kick, coming down at Pain with crushing force. Anger was radiating off him in droves, and his attacks were directing it with extreme fury. The large Pain stepped away out of Naruto's attack, and Naruto snarled lowly, throwing out a sweeping kick before firing off several punches.

The larger Pain though just continued to dodge effortlessly, his eyes half the time not even on Naruto. It infuriated him to no end, and his eyes widened as he remembered something Jiraiya had told him. 'All their visions are linked. What one sees, they all do, so trying to hit him like this will be impossible!'

And true enough, as Naruto's gaze wandered over to the other three Pain's that were as of now still holding back, his suspicions were confirmed. All three of them were watching him intently, and Naruto realised taijutsu alone wasn't going to cut it. His lips pulled up into a hostile smirk. 'I'll just give them an attack that they can't dodge, even if they are all watching!'

Naruto flipped backwards away from the larger pain before quickly summoning a pair of clones. Naruto stretched his hand out while gathering chakra, the two clones stretching their hands out over Naruto's. His chakra began swirling as the regular rasengan began forming, but wind natured chakra soon entered the mix as well. A low pitched whistle screeched through the air as four blades of pure chakra formed around the rasengan, and Naruto held the mass of chakra above his head before launching it at the group of Pain's with a growl. " _Fūton: Rasenshuriken_ _ **(Wind Release: Rasenshuriken)**_!"

Naruto watched in triumph as his strongest jutsu raced ahead at the Pain's, confident in the fact that this would definitely do some damage and take out at least one of them. This was what happened when people messed with his village. This was for Kakashi-sensei. This is what those murderers would get for thinking that they could—

Naruto's eyes widened in shock as the large Pain held his hands out and began absorbing the rasenshuriken, the process taking all of a few seconds before it was completely dissipated. His shock gave way to confusion before understanding dawned. 'Oh yeah, that Pain can absorb all ninjutsu. Damn it! I should've remembered that! Pervy Sage made sure to brief me on all of them.'

Naruto took a deep breath and slowly came to a begrudging realisation. 'I've gotta calm down. Pervy Sage was right, I'm fighting recklessly and making stupid mistakes.' Naruto formed three clones around him before grabbing a couple of smoke bombs and throwing them on the ground.

The large red cloud of smoke obscured Naruto from the rest of the Pain's vision, but that was only a cover. Soon enough, the low pitched screech of the rasenshuriken was soon filling the air again, and the deadly jutsu cut a swath through the air as it headed for the absorbing Pain.

"You never learn," the Pain that resembled Yahiko muttered. "Deidera was right. You really don't listen."

The large Pain held its hands out and once again began absorbing the rasenshuriken, though this time his eyes widened as something felt a little off. The rasenshuriken was suddenly encompassed in a puff of smoke, Naruto's black haori clad form emerging and dive tackling the Pain that could absorb to the ground.

"You tricky bastard—"

Pain was cut off as yet another rasenshuriken came flying out of the cloud of smoke, this one heading straight for the group of Pain's with nothing in its way to stop it. The jutsu flew straight between the three Pain's gathered at the back before expanding, exploding in a massive sphere of cutting chakra.

The shockwave kicked up a massive cloud of dust, and the real Naruto who was still on top of the absorbing Pain shielded his eyes for a second before remembering Pain was still beneath him. His calm suddenly fled, and his eyes were filled with rage once again.

Naruto threw a punch at Pain's eyes, making sure to cut off his vision before launching into a massive hate-filled offensive, beating the Pain underneath him into a bloody pulp. Dull thwacks and thuds filled immediate area as the dust cloud settled around them.

The sounds eventually ceased, and as the dust began dissipating, Naruto's form could be made out straddling a bloody mess clad in equally as bloody Akatsuki robes. The absorbing Pain was barely distinguishable any more, and Naruto's eyes were leaking warm tears as he stared down at what he'd done, his breathing hard and heavy.

Naruto stared down at the battered body he was straddling, his now azure blue eyes half lidded as sage mode wore off. He was left feeling thoroughly exhausted, by a combination of the lack of sage mode, as well as the emotional roller-coaster he'd been on since witnessing the death of his sensei in his arms. He just felt _tired_.

It left him with a sense of clarity he hadn't been able to possess in his hate-induced rage from earlier, and now that he had calmed, he looked down at his bloodied hands, clenching his fists tightly as a wave of remorse overcame him. What had he done? What had this accomplished, beating this Pain into the bloody mess he was now?

He felt no better after having done what he had. He felt worse in fact. And he realised with a pang of guilt, that he'd failed his master. He'd succumbed to his hatred, letting it consume him. But Jiraiya had once said that it was his dream to end the cycle of hatred. Was Naruto now not directly going against what his master wanted to achieve?

Naruto felt a little sick to the stomach, but he knew what he had to do. He took another deep breath and wiped a sleeve across his eyes, ridding the tears from his face and letting that clarity from earlier wash over him. 'No more running in blindly in a fit of rage. I need to honour Pervy Sage's teachings and try resolve this without hate.'

Even as he thought that though, the eyes of Pain flashed through his mind, Kakashi's limp and bloodied body held tightly within his grasp. Naruto felt like he was lying to himself, but despite the lingering hate, he would try. He _would_ try, for Jiraiya.

Before Naruto could get back to his feet however, blinding hot pain erupted from his stomach, and his wide eyes travelled south to find the end of a metal rod sticking out of his stomach, dripping with his own blood. A searing cough ripped through his body as ring-patterned eyes flashed through his mind and disrupted the flow of his chakra, blood flying out his mouth from the injury. "W-What—"

"I must applaud you on taking out Gakidō, it was a valiant effort," a voice suddenly spoke out from behind him. Naruto knew that voice all too well however, and he didn't need to turn around to figure out that it was Tendō. "I imagine however that leaving your guard wide open to your enemy was not part of your ingenious plan of attack."

The tone of his voice was mocking, the tone he spoke with making it seem like everything Naruto had done was worthless, all for nothing, futile. Naruto brought his hands up to the steel sticking out from his chest, gripping it shakily as another cough escaped his lips. "W-Why are you doing this? What's the point of it all?"

Tendō twisted the metal rod held firmly within his hands, enjoying the sound of Naruto's pained rasps as he aggravated the potentially fatal wound. "I hardly feel the need to explain my motives to you Nine-Tails. Just know that as a jinchūriki you are precious, and your life is not in danger. Not _yet_."

Another sharp cry rang out and Naruto coughed out in pain. He gritted his teeth to try and hold some form of composure, but it was becoming difficult. His breathing was becoming laboured, and if he could just get back into sage mode—

Naruto's eyes widened as he realised that he was currently still, more than still enough to gather up nature energy and re-enter sage mode. Another cough racked his body as he fought down the urge to grin. His ears perked up though as a dull thwack echoed out behind him, and he let a grin blossom across his face as a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Damn it Naruto! Didn't I tell you not to rush in without a clear head?"

Despite Naruto's guilt as disobeying Jiraiya, he felt relief wash through him, and he bowed his head apologetically. "I know I messed up Pervy Sage, but I've calmed down. Thanks for saving my arse."

Jiraiya clicked his tongue and then began addressing Tendō, momentarily forgetting about Naruto. The blonde in question turned his eyes south once again to the metal protruding from his chest, and an idea suddenly popped into his head as he slowly slipped into sage mode.

Closing his eyes and taking a breath, Naruto used the nature energy all around him and the honed chakra sensing ability granted to him by sage mode to reverse-trace the chakra being fed into the metal rod. His eyes remained closed for a few seconds as Jiraiya and Tendō's voices echoed softly in the background. Not a moment later however did Naruto's grin turn feral, and he ripped the metal rod from his chest and threw it to the ground, the metal clanging roughly on the dirt below. 'Sorry Pervy Sage, but I'm trusting you to handle the rest. I've got a bone to pick with the _real_ Pain.'

* * *

 _ **Hope that chapter was all right, I was stuck with this one for a while, I still don't particularly like the end product. Penny for your thoughts?**_


End file.
